TV5 and ESPN collaborate to launch ‘ESPN5’ in the Philippines

ESPN is set to return to the Philippines for the first time since 2013 after agreeing a new partnership with commercial broadcaster TV5.

As part of the multi-year agreement, ESPN will license to TV5 more than 2,500 hours of additional programming per year from its portfolio of sports rights and other programmes. The companies will also join forces to produce a daily Philippine edition of the iconic SportsCenter.

The brand and content deal is part of TV5’s strategic effort to deliver the most comprehensive, wide-ranging sports coverage in the Philippines.

Mike Morrison, Vice President and General Manager, ESPN APAC, said, “ESPN’s focus around the world is simple: to serve sports fans. This long-term collaboration across television and digital allows us to jointly serve millions of sports fans in the Philippines with exceptional content and coverage.

“We are very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as we bring ESPN’s great content, and decades of experience in sports media together with a dynamic leader in Philippine sports broadcasting like TV5.”

Vincent Reyes, President of TV5, added: “Our partnership with ESPN, long recognized as the worldwide leader in sports, gives us tremendous upside in the quality of sports programming that we bring to the market.

“ESPN strengthens our current position as the country’s sports authority. It is also a testament to our belief that the Filipino audience deserves the world’s best in sports content and programming.”

ESPN5 and the SportsCenter Philippine Edition will air on TV5’s free-to-air television channels – TV5 and Aksyon 41.

ESPN and TV5 will also offer a co-branded multisport ESPN 5 website and an accompanying ESPN 5 app to fans in the Philippines.

Exeter Chiefs appoint SecuTix as official ticketing technology partner

Reigning Aviva Premiership Champions Exeter Chiefs have today appointed SecuTix as their official ticketing technology partner.

SecuTix is set to work across the rugby club as well as the Chiefs’ stadium, Sandy Park, which also serves as a conference and banqueting centre.

The club will use the cloud-based SecuTix 360° software to grow their online ticketing business and also offer fans an enhanced experiencing when buying tickets online courtesy of 3D seat mapping technology.

Frédéric Longatte, CEO of SecuTix, said: “We’re very much looking forward to working with such a top-flight team as the Chiefs. We’re confident that our SecuTix 360° platform, which is delivered as ‘software as a service’, will benefit the club across not just ticketing, but also CRM and digital marketing.

“It’s exciting times with plans in place to extend Sandy Park to 20,000 seats and SecuTix will support the club throughout this period of expansion to help them realise their vision for the future.”

Tony Rowe OBE, Chairman & CEO of Exeter Chiefs, added: “We wanted to partner with a modern technology ticketing company that could support our digital ambitions for both the Club and Sandy Park.

“The SecuTix team impressed us with their experience of ticketing and the rugby sector. Together we will use data to better understand what the fans want, create a first-class experience for them and drive a commercial return for the club.”

Portugal Football Federation extends Nike partnership

The Portugal Football Federation (FPF) has extended its sponsorship partnership with Nike for a further six years.

The deal, which is currently in its 20th year, will see the sportswear company supply kit for 25 of the FPF’s teams until 2024.

Fernando Gomes, president of the FPF, said: “It has been 20 years since Nike started collaborating with the FPF. Since then, the first team has qualified for ten consecutive final stages, including next summer’s tournament in Russia.

“We are proud to extend our relationship with a brand that shares the FPF’s values. This is a connection made of seriousness, loyalty and stability, sharing common values ​​without ever neglecting professionalism.”

Bert Hoyt, vice president and general manager of Nike, said he was “very pleased to extend the partnership with FPF” and vowed “to continue to provide the Portuguese teams with the most innovative equipment, following the success that the two brands have lived together.”

The extension arrives at the most successful time in Portugal’s footballing history after Fernando Santos’s side beat France to win Euro 2016 last summer.

Juventus to launch exclusive docuseries on Netflix

Serie A football club Juventus FC have announced the launch of a four-part documentary series in partnership with online entertainment giant Netflix.

The series, the first for a football club on Netflix, will start in early 2018 and is set to give fans a unique look behind the scenes of the Bianconeri’s world.

Four 60-minute-long episodes will take viewers into the more intimate scenes of the players’ lives.

“It’s a source of pride that Juventus is the first football club to be the subject of a Netflix Original Docuseries,” said Federico Palomba, co-chief revenue officer at Juventus.

“Collaborations of this kind confirm our passion for innovation and being a sport entertainment brand. In this way, we are determined to reach Bianconeri fans across the world and millions of Netflix users, who thanks to this docuseries can get to know Juventus from every angle.”

Erik Barmack, Vice President of International original series at Netflix, added: “Netflix is the home of passionate storytelling, and there are no more passionate fans than those of the Bianconeri. We are excited to have unique, exclusive access to one of the most important squads in the world.

“We are excited to have unique, exclusive access to one of the most important squads in the world.”

ESPN agrees television rights deal with FIBA to 2021

FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, has announced that it has signed a five-year agreement with ESPN for the USA until 2021.

The new agreement will see ESPN broadcast all of FIBA’s Men’s and Women’s Continental Cups, plus the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers and the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2018.

Burke Magnus, ESPN Executive Vice-President, Programming and Scheduling, said: “ESPN is excited to continue our partnership with FIBA as the popularity of international basketball continues to ascend. This is our largest deal to date with FIBA, which will expand our year-round basketball presence exponentially.”

Frank Leenders, Director General of FIBA Media and Marketing Services (FMMS), added: “The USA is FIBA’s top ranked country and the home of basketball and our agreement with ESPN means that fans will get to see the very best of international basketball on a regular basis.

“Following the conclusion of this summer’s Continental Cups, the next games in November will see the USA men’s team playing in their Qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 as they aim to be among the 32 teams playing in China come August 2019.

“In addition, the USA Women’s team will be fighting to retain their Basketball World Cup title in Spain in September of next year.”

Modelo agrees deal to become UFC’s official beer

Modelo Especial has agreed a long-term deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to become the combat sport’s official beer.

The new agreement starts in 2018 and is only applicable for events held in the United States. Modelo’s branding and signage will also adorn the UFC octagon while fighters and personalities are set to be used in advertising.

“Modelo is an amazing brand that shares UFC’s unmatched commitment to its fan base,” UFC President Dana White said. “I love Modelo and we’re already talking about doing a lot of exciting things together.”

“They want to get more into multicultural consumers,” Jim Sabia, Modelo’s chief marketing officer, said of the deal “We all benefit. They’re going to help take our brand into the general market consumer household.

“We feel very confident in what they do with their athletes and its integrity.”

New York Knicks agree jersey patch deal with Squarespace

The New York Knicks have announced a jersey sponsorship deal with website-publishing platform Squarespace.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Squarespace’s logo will be displayed on the front of the NBA team’s uniform.

David O’Connor, CEO of the Madison Square Garden Company, said of the Knicks’ first-ever patch deal: “This is a trend that’s happening more extensively globally throughout a lot of different professional sports.

“This is a relatively small step for the NBA, relative to what’s happening elsewhere in professional sports. We think it’s a good one.”

The Madison Square Garden Company and New York-based Squarespace are also set to give digital advertising opportunities to local small businesses that use the website platform.

 

UEFA confirms new Nations League composition

National associations divided in four leagues based on coefficient rankings

Following the conclusion of this week’s European Qualifiers group stage matches, UEFA has confirmed the composition of the four leagues for the UEFA Nations League 2018-19.

The format of the new national team competition features promotion and relegation and sees the 55 European national teams divided into four leagues in accordance with UEFA’s national association coefficient rankings.

The UEFA Nations League will be played in four leagues A to D, with League A containing the 12 highest-ranked teams.

League B contains the next 12 teams, League C the 15 following and League D the last 16 teams. The competition starts on 6 September 2018.

Each league will contain four groups of three or four teams. The league phase will be played over six matchdays from September to November 2018.

The composition of the groups within each league will be decided by means of a draw, which will take place on Wednesday 24 January 2018 at the Swiss Tech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Promotions and relegations between the leagues (four teams move up, four teams move down) will take effect for the second edition of the UEFA Nations League in September 2020. From that moment on, the composition of the leagues will be exclusively determined by the rankings of the previous edition.

The four League A group winners will play the Finals in June 2019 to determine the first UEFA Nations League winner. The Finals consist of four matches – semi-finals, third-place match and final – to be played in one of the finalist countries.

The UEFA Nations League aims to ensure the continued success of national team football by replacing most friendlies with competitive matches and by allowing all nations to play against equally-ranked teams.

The Masters announces international partnership with Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines has been announced as an international partner of the Masters golf tournament.

The new agreement begins in 2018 and will see Delta join UPS and Rolex in the ‘international partner’ sponsorship category while AT&T, IBM and Mercedes-Benz will remain as the tournament’s primary global sponsors.

“The business relationships we cultivate assist in our efforts to meet the unique and high expectations of quality established by our Founders many decades ago,” said Billy Payne, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament.

“Delta Air Lines is a welcome addition to our family of partners, and I know their enthusiasm for the Tournament – not to mention their own standards of excellence – will greatly enhance the Masters.”

The 2018 Masters Tournament will take place on April 2 – 8.

Fan engagement, the future of video and branded content among subjects discussed at iSportconnect’s popular Media & Communications Masterclass

iSportconnect, the largest global private network of sport business executives, has secured high praise from delegates for bringing together a wide-range of experts at the 2017 Media & Communications Masterclass.

The event was held at Charles Russell Speechlys’ offices in central London, with an array of high-ranking delegates in attendance.

The opening panel focused on the subject of internal communications and stakeholder engagement with Robert Sullivan, Strategy and Communications Director at The FA, Elizabeth Birchall, Head of Communications at UK Athletics & London 2017, and Adrian Bevington of Adrian Bevington Sport & PR Ltd, combining to offer expert insight into industry best practices and how to protect credibility.

Michael Underhill, Strategic Media Consultant at Ooyala, delivered an engaging keynote speech discussing how video has become a key ingredient in communication during the digital era.

Attendees were quick to pose plenty of questions of their own and the topic of live vs highlights led to an absorbing debate in regards to what could be next for video amid the potential threat of oversaturation.

Discussions continued throughout a close-knit networking break as delegates savoured an opportunity to share insights and experiences in their respective fields of communications.

The second panel of the day considered the theme of media and fan engagement, which has become crucial due to the rise of social media.

Fiona McLachlan, VP Communications at Eurosport, Steve Wilson, Director of Communications and International Relations at ITF, and Leon Mann, Director of Refresh Films, shared innovative viewpoints and thoughts on how executives can integrate both traditional media and digital outlets into communications strategies.

Liz Birchall, Head of Communications at UK Athletics & London 2017, said: “There’s always great people in the room and always a varied number of people from different sectors of the industry who can give you a real insight into the challenges they face.”

Steve Wilson, Director of Communications and International Relations at ITF said: “I’ve been on the other side of the fence for most of my career as a journalist. But now being on this side of the fence it’s been fascinating to be among my colleague in the communications field and hear their experiences, advice and professional words. It’s been a really helpful and influential experience.”

Peter Hannon, Head of Media and Communications at Commonwealth Games England said: “All the different panels were really interesting and there’s lot of things we can takeaway. I think we’ll be heading straight back to the office and putting some things into practice! It’s been very useful to be introduced to new people and speak to people you don’t normally get to talk to.”

iSportconnect has an exciting calendar of upcoming events, including the Dubai Summit and London Directors’ Club. Stay up-to-date with all future announcements on isportconnect.com. Please contact Chris Edbrook (chris@isportconnect.com) to register your interest.