Air China agrees deal to become official partner of Beijing 2022

Air China has signed a deal to become an official partner of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The airline sealed an agreement in the Chinese capital, which is set to become the first city to ever host both the Summer and Winter Games.

Air China president, Song Zhiyong, said: “The Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are a major landmark event in China’s history.

“Air China will bring its own strengths into play and mobilise its resources to spread Olympic values and increase the impact of the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

“Air China has the capacity and confidence to promote the Olympic spirit through innovative approaches, fulfill the promise as an official partner, and support the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games with high-quality services.”

The company will play a crucial role in regards to logistics and transportation operations in five years time.

Jon Dutton appointed Chief Executive of Rugby League World Cup 2021

The Rugby Football League has appointed Jon Dutton as Chief Executive of the Rugby League World Cup 2021.

Dutton will officially start his new role on February 1 2018, leaving his current position as Rugby Football League Director of Projects & People.

Dutton, who is a sports management graduate with over twenty years’ experience in the sports industry, has previously worked for the likes of PGA European Tour and UEFA.

Speaking of his appointment, Dutton said: “As a lifelong Rugby League fan who has grown up watching the sport, I am privileged to have been given the opportunity to lead the team that will deliver the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

“Working on the 2013 World Cup provided me with tremendous experience and insight into how to host a successful tournament but the scope and scale of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup will provide completely different challenges and opportunities and I am excited to take these on in the coming years.

“Rugby League is one of the greatest sports in the world and I am determined that we will deliver a World Cup that this country and every sports fan in the UK will be proud of. We have an outstanding opportunity to deliver something brilliant for this sport and I am confident we will do so.”

Chairman of the Rugby League World Cup 2021, Nigel Wood, added: “We had considerable interest in the role but Jon was without doubt the outstanding candidate. He has a wealth of experience and knowledge and has worked at some of the biggest sporting events and organisations in the world.

“He was also an integral figure in ensuring the outstanding delivery of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and in securing the rights to host the tournament again in 2021.

“Jon outlined his vision for the 2021 tournament and we are all confident that he will deliver on this and that England will host the biggest and best Rugby League World Cup in the history of the competition.”

Fox Sports Australia extends UFC broadcast deal

Fox Sports Australia has extended its long-term broadcast deal with The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

The agreement will see the Pay-TV broadcaster continue to offer live coverage of the popular MMA combat series.

Foxtel subscribers will be able to watch all live UFC events as well as access magazine programming and archived events.

Fans will also be able to view content via Foxtel’s streaming service while Fox’s main event channel will show pay-per-view offerings.

Rebecca McCloy, director of acquisitions for Fox Sports Australia, said: “Fox Sports has been the UFC’s Australian broadcast partner for ten years with more fans watching UFC on Foxtel channels than anywhere else.

“It’s great to extend this valuable partnership that will see Foxtel continue to deliver one of the world’s most exciting and popular sports to subscribers across the country.”

Joe Carr, UFC’s senior vice president of international and content, added: “UFC is delighted to extend its long-term partnership with Fox Sports. Continuing to work with the leading producer of sports coverage in Australia was an easy decision.

“Our strong relationship has been instrumental to the success we’ve seen in Australia over the past decade and no doubt this renewal will help us both achieve more positive results.”

Globosat acquires Brazilian broadcast media rights to UEFA Euro 2020 finals

Globosat has acquired the Brazilian broadcast rights to the UEFA Euro 2020 finals.

The 24-team tournament will be made available through linear channels and specialist pay-TV network SporTV, while the organisation’s digital platforms will offer subscribers video-on-demand content.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director at UEFA, said: “We are delighted to renew our historic partnership with Globo and Globosat for the UEFA Euro.

“Its comprehensive programming planning and massive reach will ensure a great platform for football fans in Brazil to attend the top UEFA competition.”

The competition will take place between June and July 2020. The tournament has traditionally been staged in one country but the next edition will be played in 13 nations throughout the continent, with London’s Wembley Stadium set to host the semi-finals and final.

FIBA launches new EuroBasket 2017 app offering fans enhanced customisation

With Europe’s biggest basketball tournament of 2017 set to tip off in a week’s time, FIBA has launched the free EuroBasket 2017 app, presented by Global FIBA Partner Tissot, which offers a unique personalization experience for each and every fan.

The app, which is both quicker and slicker than ever before, was developed by Infront’s subsidiary OMNIGON. It is available for both Android and iOS devices.

The app enables fans to get the very best of the event right at their fingertips as they have the option to select and follow up to 3 favorite teams and 10 favorite players. In doing so, their FIBA EuroBasket 2017 experience is completely customized and gives them full control of what they want to access instantly.

Fans throughout the world will get to closely follow all the action as Europe’s 24 best teams do battle in Finland, Israel, Romania and Turkey, from August 31 to September 17, for the right to be crowned champions and lift the Nikolai Semashko Trophy in celebration.

The release of the app is part of FIBA’s constant and ongoing drive to cater to fans who, more and more, consume its major events on mobile.

Kamil Novak, FIBA Executive Director Europe, said: “EuroBasket is Europe’s flagship basketball event and one of FIBA’s signature tournaments. In such an event, one of the primary focuses is to provide our fans and participating players with a state-of-the-art experience on the digital space and adding a newly-designed app to our communications tools was simply a must.

“We are certain that FIBA EuroBasket 2017 will be one of the most followed competitions in Europe ever, digitally. We are proud to offer this to the basketball community.”

Igor Ulis, OMNIGON Chief Executive Officer, said: “OMNIGON is thrilled to have worked so closely with both Infront and FIBA on the launch of the EuroBasket app.

“Basketball has seen huge global growth over the last few years so we understood how critical it was to create an engaging, informative digital experience that would reach and resonate with fans around the world. We are excited by this app which will be in the hands of millions of basketball fans globally in time for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament.”

iSportconnect adds Santander and Standard Life Aberdeen to Brand Marketing Masterclass line up

iSportconnect is delighted to confirm two additional guest speakers for our Brand Marketing Masterclass on September 11.

Enrique Arribas, Brand and Corporate Marketing Director at Santander, and Nuala Walsh, Chief Marketing Officer at Standard Life Aberdeen, have been added to our distinguished list of industry thought leaders.

James Young, Head of Partnerships at Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Adolfo Bara, General Manager Marketing & Sales at LaLiga, Fiona Taag, Head of Global Sponsorship & Europe Marketing Communications at DHL, Tim Hunt, Head of Marketing at PGA European Tour, and Ali Russell, CMO at Formula E, will also speak at the event, which will be staged at the offices of Pinsent Mason in central London.

Brands are at the heart of the business of sport and the all-day event will offer an exclusive opportunity to discuss a challenging and fast-changing global business with industry experts.

Debates will be stimulating and the networking opportunities second to none, with current topics and challenges of tomorrow set to be on the agenda throughout a series of panels and keynote speeches.

Chatham House rules will be strictly adhered to, encouraging a free exchange of ideas.

Content programme

Panel One: What Do Brands Want From Sports Partnerships?

Brand marketing spend has changed drastically over the last five years with most Western markets witnessing over 50% of marketing budget being invested in digital.

Sports rights holders are responding to the changing needs of business with increased digital content output and a more analytical approach to understanding their customers.

However are they doing enough? Are sports bodies offering a relevant and effective mix of engagement opportunities that reflect how brands are buying audiences? Is there still too much reliance on classic sponsorship models?

Equally how do right holders create compelling propositions that make brands stand up and listen?

Panel Two: Working Together To Generate More Captivating Content

Sponsoring a sports property gives a brand a credible reason for entering and hosting the conversation, enabling it to create interesting content due to its access to players, managers and behind-the-scenes action.

Planning and delivering content has become a military operation so how can brands and right holders work best together to ensure this is done successfully? How much flexibility and trust is required between sports and brands to create real-time, honest and authentic content?

Panel Three: Building Value Through Data

Building value through data is not a new concept. Major retailers have been operating sophisticated CRM systems for decades superseded by today’s data blueprint leaders Amazon.

We all want to ‘Amazonify’ our respective businesses but how can brands and sports collaborate most effectively in using data? What are the partnership challenges? What technical solutions work best? Should brand and sports collaboration lead to monetization? Who’s doing it well?

Confirmed guest speaker list:

Enrique Arribas Alcolado, Brand and Corporate Marketing Director at Santander

Nuala Walsh, Chief Marketing Officer at Standard Life Aberdeen

James Young, Head of Partnerships at Lucozade Ribena Suntory

Adolfo Bara, General Manager Marketing & Sales at LaLiga

Fiona Taag, Head of Global Sponsorship & Europe Marketing Communications at DHL

Tim Hunt, Head of Marketing at PGA European Tour

Ali Russell, CMO at Formula E

This event is open exclusively to senior executives at brands, governing bodies and sport teams. Please contact Chris Edbrook (chris@isportconnect.com) to register your interest.

EVENT PARTNER

Pinsent_Masons

Voltarol to sponsor Eurosport’s coverage of the US Open

Eurosport, the only place to watch all four tennis Grand Slams, has signed Voltarol as the UK sponsor of its exclusively live and on-demand coverage of the 2017 US Open as Roger Federer competes for his third Grand Slam title of 2017 and his 20th overall.

Sponsorship idents for the GlaxoSmithKline pain relief brand celebrate ‘the joy of movement’ and will appear throughout of Eurosport’s 200 hours of extensive live coverage and highlights programmes. They will also be shown on Eurosport Player where every single moment from up to 12 match courts will be streamed live and on-demand.

Mean Broadcast, Eurosport’s UK advertising sales partner and MediaCom agreed the campaign which runs from August 28 to September 10 during the final Grand Slam of the year. The sponsorship for Voltarol associates the brand with sport, exercise and effective pain relief as part of its ‘Back on Track’ campaign.

“Eurosport’s exclusive TV and digital coverage of the US Open offers an incredible opportunity for Voltarol to hit a passionate live sport audience in content which has a natural synergy with Voltarol. It’s a great fit,” said Damon Letzer, Managing Partner at Mean Broadcast.

Britain’s 2012 champion, Sir Andy Murray, current world number one Rafael Nadal and five-time champion Roger Federer headline the list of the biggest stars in the men’s game. While Johanna Konta will hope to build on her impressive form which saw the rising star become the first British woman since 1978 to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Asean OTT live streaming platform Sportsfix acquires rights to Bangladesh Cricket Home Series matches

Sportsfix, the new Asean OTT live streaming sports platform, has acquired the rights to Bangladesh Cricket Home Series matches.

The first big Home Series for Bangladesh is a Test Series against Australia, the first Tour of the current number three ranked team to Bangladesh since 2006. The visitors are prepared for a hot wicket at the end of Bangladesh’s hot summer, with the first match set to take place later this month.

Marcus Luer, Executive Chairman and Founder of Sportsfix, said: “We are thrilled to add Bangladesh Cricket to our line up of top Sports from across the region. There is a large Bangladesh Community across South East Asia, who are as passionate about their Cricket team as anyone you have ever seen.

“At Sportsfix, we want to fuel that passion and bring LIVE sports action to groups which are previously forgotten or underserved by mainstream broadcasters. We know how to reach this audience through our Telco partnerships in the region.”


A.S.M.Rafiq Ullah, Chief Executive Officer of Content Matters Limited, said: “We are delighted to bring Bangladesh Cricket to our countrymen and Cricket lovers living in South East Asia and looking forward to working closely with Sportsfix to deliver the best of Bangladesh Cricket to the region.

“The Test Series against Australia has been in the making for many years and it’s finally happening. We can expect a hotly contested match by both teams. Valuable ICC Ranking points are on the line.”

In Malaysia, the Test Series will be part of Sportsfix’s offering through Celcom, in conjunction with the telco’s new product “ASIA PASS” which is targeted towards Overseas Foreign Workers in the country and offers a combination of IDD minutes, high-speed internet and domestic minutes.

England set to host 2018 ITTF Team World Cup

The world’s best table tennis players are heading back to the birthplace of table tennis for the 2018 ITTF Team World Cup, which will be held in London, England on 22-25 February 2018.

The ITTF has awarded the hosting rights for the event to Table Tennis England, with fixtures set to take place at the Copper Box Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The Team World Cup, which was last held in Dubai in 2015, comprises of a total of 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams which are made up of a host team, Continental Champions and the other top finishers at the 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships.

Table Tennis England Chairman Sandra Deaton said: “This is fantastic news for table tennis in England and a vote of confidence from the ITTF. We can’t wait to host the event, giving our members and the wider sporting community the chance to see the greatest players in the world in action.

“We’re also delighted that our top players will get the chance to take on the likes of China and Japan in their own country, with the support of a passionate home crowd.

“The fact that the iconic Copper Box Arena – a world-class venue, as proved during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics – will stage the event makes it all the more exciting.”

ITTF President Thomas Weikert added: “London is a very special place for the ITTF, as it is where we were founded in 1926, and where we held our first World Championships in the same year.

“It is great to be bringing world class table tennis back to this city, for this reason and because of the massive success of the London 2012 table tennis event.”

England previously hosted the individual Men’s World Cup at Liverpool in 2012 but next year’s tournament will represent first major table tennis-only event to be staged in London since the 1954 World Championships.

Emirates extends PGA European Tour sponsorship deal

The PGA European Tour has today renewed its sponsorship deal with Emirates Airline for a further four years.

The new agreement will see the Dubai airline become an official partner of the 2018 Ryder Cup and continue to be a sponsor of all nine existing European Tour events.

Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Emirates on the European Tour until 2021 and we also welcome them on board as an official partner of The 2018 Ryder Cup.

“I have no doubt our continued partnership with such a well-established and iconic global brand, and one which has vast experience in the sports sponsorship market, will be hugely beneficial not just to the European Tour but also to The Ryder Cup.”

Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline said: “We’re pleased to announce our continued partnership with the European Tour. Golf is one of the world’s most popular sports and Emirates proudly links golfers and fans alike to top golfing events and destinations around the globe.

“As the official partner of The 2018 Ryder Cup in France next year, we look forward to further strengthening our relationship with the European Tour as well as engaging with millions of golf fans around the world.’’