iSportconnect adds Etienne Thobois, Balázs Fürjes and Marisol Casado to Lausanne Summit lineup

iSportconnect is delighted to confirm that three additional guest speakers have been added to the lineup for the Lausanne Summit on September 27. The event will be held at the Olympic Museum.

Etienne Thobois, CEO of the Paris 2024 Bid Committee, Balázs Fürjes, Government Commissioner for Major Budapest Developments and Marisol Casado, International Triathlon Union President & IOC Member, will take part in a series of presentations and panel discussions, offering delegates a unique insight into the sports industry.

Already confirmed to speak at the event are Ben Morel, MD & Sr Vice President EMEA at National Basketball Association, Patrick Baumann, President of the International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission, Paul Barber, Chief Executive at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, Peter Hutton, Chief Executive Officer at Eurosport, Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director at UEFA, Jeff Haas, Chief International Officer at DraftKings, Claude Ruibal, Executive Director at Infront Sports & Media AG, Timo Lumme, TV & Marketing Director at IOC, Lorenzo Stoll, Vice President at SWISS Executive Committee and Ralf Reichert, CEO at eSports company ESL.

David Dellea, Head of Sport Business Advisory at PwC, will also present attendees with the results of PwC’s Sports Survey 2017.

Ornella Desirée Bellia, Head of Legal Affairs at the Association of European Professional Football Leagues, will act as a moderator.

The event’s content programme will bring together an elite group of leaders from premier rights owners and other sports industry stakeholders to discuss and debate issues impacting the future of the global sports business. Topics are set to include the struggling image of sport, the challenge of hosting major events and digital disruption.

The Summit represents a breakthrough opportunity for top-tier executives in the Olympic Capital to experience and enjoy the superb learning and networking benefits of iSportconnect’s exclusive invitation-only events.

Content programme:

Panel 1 The image of sport: irreparably damaged?

The connection between the image of sport and the brands associated with it is critically important. With the reputation of sport under pressure on various fronts, this relationship has become increasingly strained. Where do rights holders, brands and other stakeholders in the world of sport stand on this issue of huge strategic importance?

Panel 2 The challenge of hosting major events

In times of austerity, the competition between cities to host major events is not what it used to be. At the same time, the potential impact of hosting can be difficult to resist. Where does the balance lie? How can event organisers and cities find a better path to staging their events while serving the needs of cities?

Panel 3 Never-ending digital disruption: what’s next?

How do sports organisations plan and thrive in an environment where the old media models are fractured and it is close to impossible to predict the next big thing to engage consumers?

The format of the Summit will differ to our traditional Directors’ Club events. Proceedings will last for a full day and feature a combination of panels and interviews with 100 plus senior executives in attendance.

Confirmed guest speaker list:

Ben Morel, MD & Sr Vice President EMEA at National Basketball Association

Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary-General, President of the Global Association of International Sports Federations, and Chairman of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Paul Barber, Chief Executive Officer at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club

Peter Hutton, Chief Executive Officer at Eurosport

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director at UEFA

Jeff Haas, Chief International Officer at DraftKings

Marisol Casado, International Triathlon Union President and IOC Member

Claude Ruibal, Executive Director at Infront Sports & Media AG

David Dellea, Head of Sport Business Advisory at PwC

Timo Lumme, TV & Marketing Director at IOC

Lorenzo Stoll, Vice President at SWISS Executive Committee

Ralf Reichert, CEO at ESL

Etienne Thobois, CEO of the Paris 2024 Bid Committee

Balázs Fürjes, Government Commissioner for Major Budapest Developments

Further speaker announcements will be confirmed in due course.

There is limited space for this exclusive event so please email Chris Edbrook (chris@isportconnect.com) to register your interest in attending. Click here for more information.

In partnership with world leading professional service firm PwC’s Sports Business Advisory Practice and with the support of ThinkSport

Steve Dainton and Raul Calin appointed to senior ITTF positions

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has announced two senior staff appointments. Steve Dainton, who has been the Acting CEO for the past two months, has now been appointed as the permanent CEO.

Raul Calin, who has been serving as the ITTF Director of Operations will assist Mr Dainton as the ITTF Secretary General.

On the appointments, ITTF President Thomas Weikert stated: “Both Steve and Raul have both been extremely loyal to the ITTF over their many years of service, and have been instrumental to the growth of the ITTF over recent years.

“The ITTF Executive Committee and I have complete trust in both of them to excel in their new positions and guide the ITTF to a new fruitful era.”

On his promotion to the ITTF CEO position, Dainton stated: “It’s an exciting new era for the ITTF and table tennis. It’s the right time for the ITTF to realize its true commercial potential and modernize itself to ensure that table tennis cements itself as one of the leading sports globally at all levels.

“I am looking forward to helping to ensure this and to especially assist in growing the table tennis industry to new levels, meaning not only more people playing table tennis, but also more people actively engaged. If we get it right this will ensure the true stars, the athletes ,will be better recognized and rewarded.”

Dainton will be assisted by Raul Calin, who has been appointed in a newly created Secretary General position and will continue to be based in Lausanne to focus on ensuring ITTF’s positive Olympic relations.

Calin said: “I am looking to help build ITTF into a modern organisation, with transparency in all levels of management, with ambition and clear goals. ITTF should look for excellence in all areas.

“An institution in which national associations interact actively with the ITTF management for the benefit of our athletes and fans. Let’s work towards excellence in our sport events, let’s have ambition, let’s make an ITTF everyone is proud of.”

More changes to the ITTF professional structure will be announced in the coming months.

Violent gameplay could harm Esports’ bid for Olympic inclusion

Esports must conform to ‘Olympic values’ in order to be included in the Games, according to IOC President Thomas Bach.

The Paris 2024 bid team is keen to discuss the possibility of adding Esports, which generated £400m in revenue in 2016, to the Olympic movement in seven years’ time.

Bach has confirmed talks on the matter will take place but also suggested popular titles with violent gameplay may fall foul of what is expected from an Olympic sport.

READ MORE: Power up – number-crunching the incredible growth of esports

“We want to promote non-discrimination, non-violence, and peace among people,” he told the South China Morning Post.

“This doesn’t match with video games, which are about violence, explosions and killing. And there we have to draw a clear line.

Bach added: “So if ever somebody is competing at playing football virtually or playing other sports virtually, this is of high interest.

“We hope that, then, these players are really delivering sports performance. If [fans] at the end would even play the sports in the real world, we would even be more happy.”

A final decision on Esports’ possible inclusion will be made by the IOC.

‘Ground-breaking’ Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 breaks multiple records

This year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup has proven to be one to remember.

New Zealand lifted the coveted trophy on Saturday after a pulsating final against England and World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont has hailed the competition as a “special and ground-breaking” event, which broke records on and off the field.

New stars were born and the performance bar was raised by the world’s top players and teams. For instance, World Rugby analysis showed that on average the ball was in play 10% longer than in men’s matches.

Yet, the biggest results were achieved off the field, where viewership and social engagement records were smashed.

To break down some of the impressive numbers, the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 was:

The best attended – Ireland 2017 raised the bar in terms of support throughout the tournament with a record total attendance of 45,412.

  • The pool stages in Dublin sold out with 17,516 attending matches.
  • The final attracted 17,115 spectators.

The most viewed – The tournament captured hearts and minds across the globe with Ireland, France, UK, and the USA all recording record viewing figures.

  • A new tournament record of a peak audience of 3.2 million tuned into the France vs England semi-final.
  • A peak of 2.65 million tuned into ITV in the UK to watch the final – the largest single audience for a Women’s Rugby World Cup final.

The most engaged – Ireland 2017 was the most socially engaged World Rugby event of 2017, generating record video views, social engagement rates, and website traffic.

  • 45 million views across official tournament platforms, the best-performing World Rugby event of the year and the biggest since Rugby World Cup 2015.
  • 73% of social media engagement was under 24, while a 53/47% audience split between female and male fans highlighted the appeal to both.
  • There were 63,000 uses of the official competition hashtag #WRWC2017.
  • 50,000 new fans joined World Rugby’s social media communities.
  • 600,000 unique users visited Women’s Rugby World Cup website over the duration of the tournament from 223 different countries, generating four times as many page views as WRWC 2014.

“The level of global coverage and excitement is a testament to the performances of the world’s top teams and reflects the surge in interest around the world,” added Beaumont.

“Off the field, our friends from the IRFU did an exceptional job at hosting the event, while the volunteers and fans were simply brilliant.”

“But most of all, it is the teams who deserve the praise. There is no doubt that they have inspired a new generation of girls and boys to get into rugby and while only one team can be crowned champions, all the teams were fantastic on and off the field – rugby has certainly been the winner.”

READ MORE: Brett Gosper explains why World Rugby’s strategic mission is bearing fruit on all fronts

SendtoNews Video announces new partnership with Tennis Channel

SendtoNews Video has today announced a new partnership with the Tennis Channel.

Selected highlights, analysis and interviews will be available to the SendtoNews distribution platform, which includes more than 1600 sports news properties across North America including USA Today, LA Times and The New York Post.

Neil Roberts, executive director of marketing, Tennis Channel, said: “Our partnership with SendtoNews is a great opportunity to raise Tennis Channel awareness and extend our brand to nearly 200 million viewers a month.”

Mike ‘JB’ John-Baptiste, Executive VP, Content, SendtoNews, added: “From [Maria] Sharapova getting a wild-card slot at the Open to [Roger] Federer having a record breaking year, 2017 has been huge for Tennis.

“The Tennis Channel is a leader in providing quality coverage of all these storylines and we are thrilled to deliver this content to our publishing partners.”

The SendtoNews and Tennis Channel Partnership will see a variety of premium tennis videos distributed to publishers across 96 of the top 100 U.S. designated market areas.

The deal is set to give viewers access to not only tournament coverage but also related travel and lifestyle content and exclusive videos of Tennis Channel sponsored tournaments such as September’s Laval Cup.

Warwickshire CCC secures partnership with fan-engagement firm Snaptivity

Warwickshire County Cricket Club has signed a new deal with fan-engagement firm Snaptivity to support the match day experience at Edgbaston.

Snaptivity uses Smart Stadium technology to capture the emotions and reactions of spectators inside the stadium, which they can subsequently download and share on social media.

Snaptivity also employs robo-cameras that are triggered automatically by Artificial Intelligence and sensors. The results can then be viewed as high-resolution images while sponsors have an opportunity to overlay a graphic.

Gareth Roberts, Commercial Director at Warwickshire CCC, said: “Our Members, ticket buyers and hospitality guests are at the heart of everything that we do and we are continually monitoring our customer experience scores and reviewing new opportunities that can enhance the Edgbaston experience.

“Through the initial trial, Snaptivity has played a part in taking our match day experience score for Birmingham Bears T20 matches to the highest levels yet. The firm has been a pleasure to work with throughout the initial trial period and we’re delighted to sign the extended deal.”

Amit Pate, Co-Founder & CEO at Snaptivity, added: “Snaptivity captures the very essence of cricket; bringing together real-time fan emotions that cricket fans experience together. We believe that this will be a great asset to Edgbaston and the innovation will certainly put the fans under the spotlight.

“Edgbaston has a great tradition of staging some of the biggest cricket matches in the game and we’re thrilled to work with them on this innovation of enhancing match-day experience following the successful trials last season.”

The new partnership covers this Saturday’s NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day, plus matches in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Technological infrastructure has been initially set-up to cover the Eric Hollies Stand with the potential to expand the service throughout the stadium.

Eleven Sports secures rights to world judo championships in multiple markets

Global sports provider, Eleven Sports, has secured live and exclusive rights to the 2017 and 2018 IJF World Judo Championships in Belgium, Luxembourg and USA.

Eleven has been showing coverage of the 2017 edition since it began on Monday 28 August in Budapest, Hungary, and will continue to do so through to the end of the championships on 3 September.

The 2018 event will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Eleven Sports will also show the 2017 and 2018 IJF World Judo Tours exclusively in the same territories.

Danny Menken, Group Managing Director, Eleven Sports, said: “We are very pleased to bring international sporting action from the IJF World Judo Championships to fans across our multiple markets.

“Eleven Sports aims to meet un-met demand, making underserved and niche content available to fans everywhere. This acquisition helps us achieve this goal.”

BBC renews NFL rights deal for 2017 season

A season of ground-breaking American football coverage returns on Friday (September 1) as BBC Sport and the National Football league launch a new partnership.

Coverage of the 2017 season begins with the return of The NFL Show, which will preview the race to Super Bowl LII on at 11.40 p.m. on Friday on BBC One, with a repeat at 6.45 a.m. on Saturday on BBC Two.

The NFL Show will run throughout the season on BBC One, either on Friday or Saturday nights, with NFL This Week rounding up all the action on Tuesdays on BBC Two, beginning on September 12 at 11.45 p.m. All the shows will be available to view on BBC iPlayer.

Once again, Mark Chapman will host the the shows, which combine the best of the NFL action with analysis, fun, the latest storylines and biggest personalities, plus interaction with some of the UK’s biggest sports stars.

Alongside him will be former NFL defensive back Jason Bell and two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora, who was earlier this year named as Best Sports Presenter in the Royal Television Society Awards for his performances on the programmes.

“We can’t wait to get back together to begin the new season,” said former New York Giants great Umenyiora.

“The shows are great fun to shoot and it feels like three buddies just talking about their favourite sport. I think that comes across to the viewers and helps to engage them in the NFL.”

Produced by Whisper Films, The NFL Show and NFL This Week will also be aired in various territories around the world this season, including Africa and Australia.

BBC Sport’s coverage of the NFL season will also include exclusive live coverage of the New Orleans Saints against the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium at 2.30 p.m. on Sunday, October 1 and the Minnesota Vikings against the Cleveland Browns at Twickenham at 1.30 p.m on Sunday, October 29.

BBC will also air highlights of the other two NFL games played in London this autumn: the Baltimore Ravens against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley on September 24; and the Arizona Cardinals versus the Los Angeles Rams at Twickenham on October 22.

The season will culminate in live coverage of Super Bowl LII from Minneapolis on Sunday, February 4, 2018.

BT Sport to stream section of Rugby Tonight show on Facebook and Twitter

BT Sport is to stream a regular taster of its rugby union magazine show Rugby Tonight for free on social media platforms Facebook and Twitter providing potential subscribers an opportunity to sample the broadcaster’s popular innovative show.

The weekly hour-long show will be shown on BT Sport channels and the first quarter on BT Sport Rugby’s Facebook and Twitter feed. The first part of the programme will focus on questions and opinions from the social media platforms to some of the biggest names in rugby, and this will take place throughout the season.

The new season of Rugby Tonight kicks off with special guest British & Irish Lions, England and Saracens star Maro Itoje.

This season Rugby Tonight will see Craig Doyle, Martin Bayfield and Sarra Elgan all present the show alongside the BT Sport rugby team of experts that includes former international stars Ben Kay, Austin Healey, Ugo Monye, Brian O’Driscoll and Lawrence Dallaglio.

It is the latest move by BT Sport aimed at making its content available as widely as possible. Football results show, BT Sport Score, is streamed throughout the season live on Twitter.

BT also made last season’s UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League finals available for free to as many people as possible, on YouTube, the BT Sport website, BT Sport channels and the app, underlining BT’s commitment to make televised sport more accessible to fans.

Rugby Tonight is broadcast live from the studio, but this season will also see the show hit the road and travel across the country alongside Aviva Premiership clubs across the UK, showing the links between the professional and grassroots game with the show’s usual mix of insight and fun along the way.

BT Sport has also launched a new sport predictor game, giving Aviva Premiership fans the chance to predict results, create private leagues to challenge their friends and office colleagues, and take on and take on the BT Sport rugby experts.

Since launching in 2013, BT Sport has broadcast live Aviva Premiership Rugby and is currently broadcasting up to 69 matches per season in top flight English rugby and extended highlight rights for all 135 matches in the competition. Since 2014, BT Sport has also shown at least 37 games in both European elite competitions per season with English club Saracens winning the European Champions Cup for the past two years.

Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “This is a further sign that BT Sport is at the heart of innovation in sport. Social media enables fans to watch Rugby Tonight on the move for the first part and for those who do not subscribe to BT Sport to see what we offer and sample BT Sport’s approach to sport and strong programming.”

Macron becomes match official kit and retail partner to the Guinness PRO14

With kick-off to the 2017/18 season just days away Macron have become the Match Official Kit and Retail Partner to the Guinness PRO14.

From the start of the season Guinness PRO14 referees will be wearing Macron match kits after a multi-year deal was signed with the Italian kit manufacturer, who provide Sportswear and Leisurewear for elite level clubs and national bodies around the world.

This season the Guinness PRO14 becomes a truly global tournament after the Toyota Cheetahs and the Southern Kings joined the Championship from South Africa to bring cross-hemisphere rugby to fans around the tournament.

Macron are a leading sportswear brand with their success due to the quality of products, high level of service and the ability to interpret the needs of athletes.

Dermot Rigley, Commercial & Marketing Director of PRO14 Rugby, was thrilled to welcome Macron to the Championship’s stable of partners.

“We saw close to 300 international players appear in the Championship last season and that demands that our referees are in peak condition in order to keep up with these world-class athletes,” Rigley said.

“Greg Garner, our Elite Referee Manager, and our union referee managers ensure that match officials in the Guinness PRO14 are physically and mentally prepared to officiate our games each week and now Macron will make certain they feel good and look good when they are holding the whistle.”

Speaking about the new partnership, Ross Cook, Sports Marketing Manager from Macron, said: “We are so proud to become a partner of the Guinness PRO14 which is now a world leader in rugby.

“Macron has already had success in the Championship with both Glasgow Warriors and Scarlets being past champions so with all of the exciting new announcements around South Africa and the overall growth project, we knew we wanted to be part of it.

“Many of the referees in the Guinness PRO14 are regulars on the international scene and we’re thrilled to be supporting them on game days with the best possible Match Official Kits from Macron.

“In addition to seeing the referees and technical staff at PRO14 Rugby wearing Macron, we are excited at the prospect of launching a new official Guinness PRO14 range that will be available in the very near future.”

Greg Garner, Elite Referee Manager for the Guinness PRO14, said: “I’m thrilled that Macron are working with us to ensure our referees have the best Match Official Kits so they only have to focus on the game.

“Our referees do a huge amount of work behind the scenes to ensure that they deliver the best possible performance on the pitch each and every weekend. Knowing that the referees in the Guinness PRO14 have Macron in their corner every week is very reassuring as we enter into the new season.”