Sony extends title sponsorship of PGA Tour event in Hawaii

The PGA TOUR and Sony Corporation (Sony), which enters its 20th year as title sponsor of the Sony Open in Hawaii, have agreed to extend their partnership by another four years, through 2022.

The new agreement will commence following the 2018 tournament in January. The upcoming Sony Open in Hawaii will mark the 20th year of Sony’s sponsorship, tying it for the third-longest tenured title sponsor on the PGA TOUR.

Kazuo Hirai, President and CEO, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Corporation, said: “2018 will be the momentous 20th anniversary of the Sony Open in Hawaii.I am proud to announce that Sony has decided to renew its sponsorship once again, through 2022.”

To us, the Sony Open is not just a golf tournament; it has allowed us to provide continuous support to the local Hawaiian community. Together with everyone involved in organizing the tournament and our charitable partners at The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, we hope to continue contributing to the people of Hawaii.”

PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, said: “As we approach the 20th anniversary of Sony’s sponsorship of the Sony Open in Hawaii, it’s important to recognize the impact Sony has had on the tournament’s stability, success and growth since 1999.

“We congratulate Sony for reaching this milestone in 2018 as one of our longest continuous tournament sponsors, and we thank them for extending this outstanding partnership for another four years.”

The tournament has been held at Waialae Country Club since its debut in 1965. In 1999, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc., became the host organization and Sony became title sponsor.

The following year, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc., became the Sony Open’s charity partner. Since 1999, approximately $17 million has been distributed to 350 Hawaii not-for-profit organizations. More than $1 million has been raised annually since 2005.

Sony extends title sponsorship of PGA Tour event in Hawaii

The PGA TOUR and Sony Corporation (Sony), which enters its 20th year as title sponsor of the Sony Open in Hawaii, have agreed to extend their partnership by another four years, through 2022.

The new agreement will commence following the 2018 tournament in January. The upcoming Sony Open in Hawaii will mark the 20th year of Sony’s sponsorship, tying it for the third-longest tenured title sponsor on the PGA TOUR.

Kazuo Hirai, President and CEO, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, Sony Corporation, said: “2018 will be the momentous 20th anniversary of the Sony Open in Hawaii.I am proud to announce that Sony has decided to renew its sponsorship once again, through 2022.”

To us, the Sony Open is not just a golf tournament; it has allowed us to provide continuous support to the local Hawaiian community. Together with everyone involved in organizing the tournament and our charitable partners at The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, we hope to continue contributing to the people of Hawaii.”

PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, said: “As we approach the 20th anniversary of Sony’s sponsorship of the Sony Open in Hawaii, it’s important to recognize the impact Sony has had on the tournament’s stability, success and growth since 1999.

“We congratulate Sony for reaching this milestone in 2018 as one of our longest continuous tournament sponsors, and we thank them for extending this outstanding partnership for another four years.”

The tournament has been held at Waialae Country Club since its debut in 1965. In 1999, Friends of Hawaii Charities, Inc., became the host organization and Sony became title sponsor.

The following year, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc., became the Sony Open’s charity partner. Since 1999, approximately $17 million has been distributed to 350 Hawaii not-for-profit organizations. More than $1 million has been raised annually since 2005.

BT Sport app to broadcast 360° highlights and instant replays

BT has today announced plans to make 360° highlights and instant replays from a range of major sporting events available on the BT Sport App.

Starting tonight with the UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, BT Sport will show highlights and replays of a minimum of 20 sporting events in 360° before June 2018.

All of the 360° video can be enjoyed with or without a VR headset. The highlights and replays will be available alongside standard replays in the timeline on the BT Sport App’s award-winning enhanced video player.

This offers viewers the chance to select different camera angles and viewpoints, not normally seen in broadcast, to re-watch key incidents during the sporting events, and is the first time that they will also be able to choose to watch in 360°.

Jamie Hindhaugh, chief operating officer, BT Sport, said: “This is another first for 360° broadcasting. It’s another step forward in broadcast innovation that will give BT Sport the best possible viewing experience and shows BT Sport continues its commitment to be at the heart of this.

“We’re passionate about sport and technology and want to continue to explore new ways to combine them for the benefit of our viewers and bring them closer to the action.”

Broadcasting is dead – and more alive and dynamic than ever before in the digital world. Click here to register your interest in attending iSportconnect’s 2018 Broadcast Masterclass.

TAG Heuer announces Copa Libertadores partnership

Swiss luxury watch brand TAG Heuer has announced a new partnership with the CONMEBOL Libertadores for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

As part of the agreement, TAG Heuer will become the official timekeeper and official watch for all the matches organised by the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores competition, starting January 2018.

CONMEBOL professional referees will be equipped with TAG Heuer Connected watches sporting a special referee application to support them in tracking time during the game.

Jean-Claude Biver, CEO of TAG Heuer and President of the LVMH Watch Group Division, said: “Football is the most popular sport in the world. With football, we communicate passion, emotion, team spirit, strategy, victory.

“Values that are also carried by our brand and more importantly by the people who buy and wear our watches. Today, we are proud to announce this partnership which sees TAG Heuer teaming up with the CONMEBOL Libertadores, the most prestigious club competition in South America.”

Alejandro Dominguez, President of CONMEBOL, added: “TAG Heuer has an established heritage in sports, with both a track record of excellence and an attitude that constantly seeks to conquer new challenges.

“We are delighted to announce this partnership for the CONMEBOL Libertadores, a club competition that has inspired South America for decades with values like teamwork, self-belief, and a fighting spirit. Moreover, TAG Heuer’s commitment to accuracy, consistency and technical innovation are values that CONMEBOL seeks to promote in refereeing of all its competitions.”

BBC and ITV announce World Cup 2018 fixtures split

The BBC and ITV have today announced the games each channel will broadcast to UK audiences for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The two terrestrial stations will split tournament coverage, with the BBC set to broadcast England’s opening two Group G games against Tunisia and Panama.

The Three Lions’ final group match versus Belgium will be shown live on ITV, who will have first pick of fixtures in the last 16.

The BBC will have the first two choices of quarter-final games – including England’s if they progress that far – while both channels Both BBC and ITV will broadcast the final live.

Philip Bernie, BBC head of TV Sport, said: “We’re delighted with our selection of matches, which sees the BBC bring England’s first two games of the competition live to our audiences – as well as their potential quarter final.

“We are also very pleased to be showcasing the skills of the world’s best players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, in five of their group matches.

“The BBC is proud to be offering such an enticing array of games on football’s biggest stage, as we look to deliver to audiences unprecedented, extensive access to World Cup content across TV, radio, online and social media.”

Niall Sloane, ITV director of sport, added: “Once again, the World Cup starts on ITV with the host country’s opening game on 14 June and we have live coverage of some of most outstanding matches drawn from the group stages with England v Belgium as well as all three of tournament joint favourites Brazil’s games.”

Atlético de Madrid and Caixabank renew their partnership until 2022

Atlético de Madrid and Caixabank have extended their partnership until 2022.

The announcement was made by Enrique Cerezo, president of Atlético de Madrid, and Gonzalo Gortázar, CEO of Caixa Bank in a private event in the Wanda Metropolitano.

Atletico and Caixbank have been working together for more than two decades.

Gortázar said: “This renewal reaffirms our commitment to CaixaBank’s strategy to become the bank of football clubs in Spain.

“Maintaining our partnership with Atlético de Madrid allows us to work with one of the great Spanish and European football teams.”

Australian Open appoints Vegemite as official ballkid partner

Vegemite has agreed a deal to become the official ballkid partner of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

The partnership will cover the 2018 Australian Open, which runs from January 15-28 in Melbourne. As part of the partnership, Vegemite has named Australian player Ashleigh Barty as Vegemite ambassador for the ballkids.

The ballkid squad includes 304 Victorians, 18 from elsewhere in Australia and 28 from France, China and Korea.

Adam McNamara, general manager of Bega Foods and Vegemite, said: “Vegemite can’t wait to kick off the partnership with the Australian Open ballkid squad, who are one of the most visible assets of the entire tournament.

“The Australian Open is such an iconic event and by fuelling the ballkids we will also be showcasing Australia’s most loved spread to the world.

“The Vegemite brand is focused on vitality, with Vegemite being one of the richest sources of B Vitamins, we are thrilled to be helping fuel the AO ballkids in 2018.”

Catapult signs league-wide deal with Rugby Football League

The Rugby Football League (RFL) has partnered with Catapult Sports to enhance its existing innovation credentials.

As part of the agreement, Catapult will supply 390 S5 tracking units and integrate athlete performance monitoring platform amongst all twelve teams in the Super League and the England National Rugby League team. These will be used in both training and matches throughout 2018.

The partnership will also explore live match-day tracking using Catapult’s ClearSky technology. The RFL and Catapult will further investigate data commercialisation opportunities to use live metrics supported by Catapult for the 2018 Super League season.

Roger Draper, RFL’s chief commercial officer, said: “Catapult’s wearable analytics will be deployed to all twelve of our Super League teams, having already been used by the England Men’s National Team at the Rugby League World Cup 2017.

“The RFL have long been associated with technology innovation and our partnership with Catapult enhances our technology credentials as we explore new opportunities for live match-day tracking and grassroots wearables.

“We selected Catapult for their analytics platform capabilities, their service model and the opportunity to explore new commercial opportunities. We are extremely excited about the partnership for the Super League and our teams.”

Joe Powell, Catapult’s chief executive officer, added: “We’re delighted to be able to work in partnership with the RFL and the Super League as they ramp up their use of innovative technology to enhance performance amongst their athletes and teams.

“We’re equally excited to explore potential data broadcast opportunities, following the success of this year’s State of Origin project. The pursuit of league-wide deals continues to be a key focus for us here at Catapult and we’re grateful to RFL for the opportunity to partner.”

Media partners confirmed for Bangkok SportAccord Convention 2018

SportAccord Convention today confirmed six Media Partners as part of its tiered media partnership programme who will cover the business of sport for international sports federations, industry, cities and regions. Set to take place in Bangkok, Thailand from 15 – 20 April 2018, the SportAccord Convention Media Partners include: AFP Sports, Anadolu Agency (AA), Francs Jeux, iSportconnect, SportBusiness Group, as well as Sports Features Communications.

Selected as Media Partners for their global reach and expert analysis, they will provide media and marketing support in the lead-up to the Convention, as well as in-depth news coverage and interviews during the event.

Focused on ‘sports marketing and sponsorship’, the sixteenth edition of SportAccord Convention is supported by a full 3-day conference programme involving leading subject matter experts. The varied programme streams include the Plenary, CityAccord, MediaAccord and LawAccord, as well as the launch of HealthAccord.

With a packed Official Schedule, and the only sports business summit attended by all the international sports federations, SportAccord Convention hosts the General Assemblies for GAISF (Global Association of International Sports Federations), ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations), AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport) and Associate Members. A delegation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will also be in attendance.

As a result of the high-profile organisations and delegates in attendance, this year’s 6-day global gathering in Aarhus, Denmark, generated nearly 2,000 unique news stories as well as 50 broadcasted interviews – reaching 60 countries. Media coverage included breaking news and analysis, exclusives, features and in-depth interviews, as well as news-in-brief.

Welcoming this year’s Media Partners on-board, Nis Hatt, Managing Director of SportAccord Convention said, “We are delighted to be working with these media partner organisations once more, many of whom have been with us for years.

“Their continued loyalty, support and refreshingly down-to-earth approach towards media coverage, provides international sports federations, industry, cities, partners and exhibitors, with excellent opportunities to reveal breaking news, profile new products or services, and help drive awareness globally.”

MLS announces JLab Audio as official audio partner

Major League Soccer (MLS) has today announced a new sponsorship deal with JLab Audio, the fastest growing major headphone brand.

Under the terms of the new multi-year agreement – JLab Audio’s largest partnership to date – the California-based company becomes Major League Soccer’s first Official Audio Partner

JLab CEO, Win Cramer, said: “JLab is super excited to continue our growth by connecting with the fastest-growing sports league in the US. This partnership is a perfect match – blending JLab’s focus on value and authenticity with the most loyal and passionate fans in all of sports.

“Moreover, we’ll get to introduce our brand and products to the next generation of soccer players and fans alike. We’re thrilled!”

Carter Ladd, Vice President of Business Development, MLS, added: “We’d like to welcome JLab Audio to the MLS family. This is an example of two growing, increasingly relevant brands partnering to continue their upward trajectory. We look forward to working with our new partners at JLab for many years to come.”

The partnership focuses on connecting players and fans with JLab Audio’s wireless products and getting both excited about the game.

Under the partnership JLab Audio will have a strong presence during pre-game warmups and will work with players to access wireless products. The company will also receive field-level signage in nationally-televised matches and curated custom athlete playlists, powered by JLab Audio, that will be hosted on MLS channels.