Community, Author at iSportConnect

Extreme E to be discontinued as the focus shifts to Extreme H

Extreme E will be discontinued post the finale in the US as the focus of the owners will shift to developing the world’s first hydrogen off-road series.

Extreme H track testing is well underway. The new race car, powered by hydrogen and at the forefront of sustainable technology and innovation, at full speed will be unveiled later this year and finally Extreme H will launch in 2025.

In his column on Extreme E website, Managing Director Ali Russell said: “There is so much to be excited about in 2024 for our championship. Not only will our new Extreme E season get underway in February, but plans for the launch of Extreme H – a world-first in motorsport – are now well underway.

There were plenty of milestones for us last year regarding Extreme H, which made it a hugely successful one – we signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), setting out a framework to create the first-ever hydrogen off-road racing world championship, and then followed that up with the launch of a pioneering hydrogen technical working group, where we will collaborate closely with the FIA and Formula One.”

iSportConnect Sports Tech Index powered by SportsTech Match – 2023 Wrap-Up

Who’s hot in Sports Tech? Who is doing deals, launching new products and generally doing some of the best work in the sector? That’s what the Index attempts to dig into. Whether established players or the up-and-coming stars, we go a little deeper for you…

Following ten editions of our sports tech index we round off the year and take a breath to recognise the sports tech companies that finished 2023 on top.

2023 saw almost 40 different companies feature in our 12-monthly rolling ranking of the top 20 most active sports tech companies and four contested the number one spot. Seat Unique (ticketing) topped our first ranking of the year in early 2023 and was followed by Sport:80 (membership management platform), Fanbase (fan engagement platform) and Teamworks (communication and collaboration platform) at the top respectively.

In our final index of 2023, which includes activity reported up to the end of December, LiveU (IP video transmission and live streaming) are the only company to make a first-time appearance on our list (at #20).

Our top five at the end of 2023 (drum roll please), in reverse order, sees Sportradar (sports data and betting) at #5 (boosted by recent deals with ATP and Sportsnet (Canada)), Genius Sports at #4 (helped by a recent FIBA partnership expansion), Stack Sports (SaaS platform offerings for the sports industry) at #3, Fanbase at #2 (consolidating their position with two new partnership announcements in December) and Teamworks at #1.

Congratulations to all companies who have appeared in our index over the year and a special congratulations goes to Teamworks who have consistently announced new partnerships as well as high-scoring partnership expansions / renewals throughout the last 12 months.

Due to popular demand, the Sports Tech Index will continue and move from a monthly to a quarterly cycle in 2024.

Want to know more?

Subscribe to the SportsTech Match monthly newsletter for an overview of the activity that generated points towards the index this month (via the footer on the website).

The iSportConnect Sports Tech Index is designed to help rights owners and investors quickly assess who is “hot” from a product and new business perspective and provides sports tech vendors with an incentive to focus their PR announcements on what matters to the market. It follows a simple scoring system (see below).

The iSportConnect Sports Tech Index was published on a monthly basis throughout 2023 on iSportConnect.com. Click here to read more about how the Index is calculated.

How Southampton FC is differentiating itself in a competitive market

Sport Republic, a London-based investment firm, completed the takeover of Southampton in January 2022, buying Gao Jisheng’s controlling 80 per cent stake in the club and since then the club has adopted a refreshing marketing and branding strategy. Despite being relegated from the Premier League after 11 years, Southampton FC have continued to do well off the field. iSportConnect’s Taruka Srivastav spoke with Southampton FC’s Chief Commercial Officer Charlie Boss to know more.

Charlie, you joined Southampton FC recently. Tell us about your current role and your previous experiences.

I formally joined the club in April last year, which was almost exactly two weeks before the club got relegated from the Premier League. In many ways, this has been a real opportunity for the club to make some changes that will help us accelerate and get ready for the future. Before joining the club, I spent two years working for the Jockey Club, which is the largest commercial operator in British horse racing. Before that, I spent nearly a decade working for Disney on the ESPN brand.

I always knew I would end up back in sport because there is just something so special about being at a live sporting event and feeling like you had a tiny part to play in it. In November, we had a women’s game with our team playing Arsenal in the Conti-Cup. We had 13,000 fans there, which is a new record for Southampton FC Women. It was just spectacular to see those fans cheering a women’s team that wasn’t even professional five years ago, taking on Arsenal and taking them right away to injury time.

What is the marketing and branding strategy of the club and women’s team?

Southampton FC has a unique reputation, both across the UK and internationally as one of the leading football clubs for developing talent. Our academy has produced some of the most amazing players like Gareth Bale, and more recently players like James Ward-Prowse. And because of the quality of our academy, many UK fans have always had a soft spot for the club.

We recently filmed a docuseries with CBBC called The Football Academy which followed the boys’ and girls’ teams at our youth academy as well as the parents and coaches in the U8s to U15s over a season. Netflix had F1’s Drive to Survive and with this, new audiences came through, so with CBBC we saw a real opportunity. We’re now on to our second season. It’s an amazing show and something I’m really proud of.

From a marketing and branding perspective, we want to position ourselves as the leaders in the family space. For the last 10 years, at our men’s games the average age of our audience has been getting younger. And the women’s side helps bring this full circle. At our match against Arsenal Women, which had a record crowd number of 13,000 fans present in the stadium, it was mostly families.

To be a leading family club, you just can’t have a great men’s team, but also a great women’s team. We try to treat the two as equitable as possible. For example, they both train at our Staplewood training ground, and they both play their games at St. Mary’s Stadium, which is really unusual, but it’s part of our intent to give both teams the platform to engage our fans and to engage new families.

What kind of brands do you currently have on your roster?

Our sponsorships are really interesting. Most clubs have the same front of shirt sponsor for both the men’s and women’s team. We have Sportsbet.io, who are the front-of-shirt sponsors for our men’s team while we have Starling Bank for our women’s team. This was a deliberate decision, because although Sportsbet.io is committed to both teams and are involved in both teams, there was an opportunity to bring a new brand into the women’s team that really wants to focus on the women’s game.

Starling Bank became the first organisation to sponsor our women’s team independently of the men’s. The three-year deal includes a number of initiatives launched by Starling and the club to create more grassroots football opportunities for women and girls. Our programme, Coaches of Tomorrow has been really successful and has seen 45 women from the region train to become FA accredited coaches.

So, Southampton FC wants to be like Richmond FC in Ted Lasso?

I do think there is that element of cultural change around the globalisation of football. We’ve got Ted Lasso and its American audience and then we have got the Wrexham documentary and that wider audience. Although Southampton FC isn’t yet a global brand, like the fictional Richmond AFC or Wrexham, I do think that we can speak to a global audience of children. There are so many kids around the world who are passionate about football and because of our Premier League history, and hopefully our Premier League future, I think we’ve got an amazing opportunity to engage them.

As a club, you just cannot partner with anybody, you have to ensure that your values align with the brand’s value. So what are these important things that you look for before you know, committing to a partnership?

We follow what we call the shared values model. Before we embark on any partnership, we sit down with a brand, and we align on what is the common belief which will make this partnership work for everyone.

For example, with Sportsbet.io we will figure out what is it we’re going to try and do. What are we going to try and communicate to our fan base and how are we going to do it.

With relegation from the Premier League, we really wanted to bring more local businesses into the fold and create that bridge into the community that perhaps had been eroded after so long in the Premier League, where the platform is this global media platform. We have brought back one of my favourite sponsors, Draper Tools. A local business, that are quite famous because they were front of shirt sponsors back in the 1980’s. This season they’ve been able come back into the club, to be back-shirt-sponsor of the men’s team as well as the Women’s First Team back-of-shorts.

They are so engaged as a sponsor because what we’re both trying to do is celebrate this shared rich history we have. As an example of that, the chief executive will send messages to his staff coming into the office on days where they’re all wearing Southampton shirts, and it feels like something they really deeply care about.

Being connected at that level, sharing the same interest, and sharing the same celebrations and losses together is something which is born out of love and passion rather than a very commercial partnership. Commercial aspects are important, but the passion is what puts these brands on your agenda.

We’ve also been working closely with our fan advisory board and in the last ten months or so we’ve really tried to bring them closer into our decision making, because ultimately, they can help us bridge the communication to fans. As an example of that, when were relegated, we were thinking through what our season ticket pricing should look like and how we do that in a way to bring as many fans back into the stadium as possible. They helped us not just around what the pricing should look like, but how we communicate that to fans, and the result of that is we’ve sold more season tickets in the championship than we did last year in the Premier League, which I think is pretty astonishing.

Is Southampton FC looking to do more with smaller startups and how would you get more of them involved, etc? Any plans?

This actually plays really nicely into our ownership model. Our owners, Sport Republic, is a London based sports investment firm founded by Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft and financed by lead investor Dragan Šolak. Solak is a media entrepreneur, and our club Chairman Henrik Kraft is from a media and technology background and is also an active early-stage investor in sports technology companies such as Tonsser, Sportlight, Wave.tv, and Oura Ring. The vision for Sport Republic is to create this ecosystem where they invest not just in football clubs, but in sports technology. And we can get access to those technology companies and use the club to help them refine their offering so they can work with us directly to create something that works for football clubs.

This not only benefits just Southampton FC as the sports technology company can then go and monetize their product. So, an example of one of their investments is an app called Tonsser which allows undiscovered talent to essentially showcase their skills to professional clubs. It’s already a very successful app in France and it launched in the UK with Southampton FC in 2022, where we did an event at our Staplewood Training Campus. Our owners also own a club called Valenciennes FC in France, and they’re now doing something very similar based on our experience.

How important is sustainability for the club and what is the kind of work you are doing around it?

We have a sustainability strategy called the ‘Halo Effect’ which is really designed to bring together all the different aspects of sustainability. The Halo Effect has a dual meaning, inspired by our crest and club’s heritage, whilst also signalling the combined positive impact we hope initiatives will have on our people and community.

We think about sustainability in terms of the environment, governance, our relationship with the fans, and in terms of behaving responsibly in the community. Back in 2019 when the Sports Positive League started, Southampton FC was near the bottom and in just three years we were one of the best, finishing fourth in the 2022 Sports Positive League.

As part of our environmental efforts, we have an initiative called the “Home Grown” initiative. Every time one of our boys or girls from the academy makes their first team debut for the men’s or women’s team, we plant 250 trees at local schools in Southampton and preserve 250 trees in the Amazon Rainforest. My view is that, in the short term, if you are a leading club from a sustainability perspective, it opens up new partnerships opportunities as there are certain brands who will want to tell that story. In the long term, I think it actually almost flips. I think that if you don’t take sustainability seriously, there will be a lot of brands who will not be willing to work with you. And frankly, in time, there will be a lot of fans who will not be willing to buy from you because we’re going from a world where sustainability is a competitive advantage to sustainability being a requirement.

And finally, what is the vision for Southampton FC in 2024?

The short-term vision for the club is clear – to achieve promotion for our men’s team back into the Premier League, and for our women’s team into the WSL. I truly believe that is where both teams belong. Everything at this club both on and off the pitch is ready for topflight football. As part of that, we are increasingly investing in our home at St Mary’s to ensure this stadium provides a world class experience for our fans. That starts with introducing wi-fi in February, and with far more to come over the year. We are determined that when we return to the Premier League, we will do so stronger than we were before.

New Report Sheds Light on the Africa Cup of Nations 2023: A Tournament Transforming Football and Beyond

Africa Sports Unified (ASU) , a boutique strategic consultancy and knowledge hub dedicated to connecting and developing a sustainable Pan-African sports ecosystem, is delighted to announce the launch of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 Overview Report.

ASU released an in-depth report on the Africa Cup of Nations 2023, offering a comprehensive analysis of the tournament’s impact on sports, economics, and culture in Africa. The report delves into the dynamics of Africa’s biggest sporting event, showcasing how the tournament is more than just a series of matches, but a catalyst for social and economic change.

Highlighting key statistics and trends, the report reveals the increasing significance of AFCON in the global sports arena. It provides an exclusive look into the commercial & media partners, venues and host cities as well as analysis on social media and the evolving landscape of fan engagement.

“AFCON 2023 is not just a celebration of African football; it’s a testament to the continent’s growing stature in the global sports industry,” said Gabriel Ajala, Founder of Africa Sports Unified. “Our report offers a one stop destination pertaining to all the key information regarding the tournament from trusted sources. Our analysis offers valuable insights for governments, sports federations, business sectors and fans, showcasing the multifaceted impact of this prestigious event.”

To download the full report, please click HERE.

Welcome to The Third Wave of Sports Content Marketing: The Athletes’ Takeover

The central control of production is getting closer and closer to the individual athlete in sports marketing – which might not always make for the best content. David Granger, content marketing consultant tells us why.

We’re moving into the third phase of content marketing in sport. Once upon a time (ask your parents) all content production was done by rights-holders or third parties. Then we moved to out-sourcing to agencies or bringing production inhouse. We now have now started a new chapter: players themselves controlling their own intellectual property and image. This is not simply using social or their own web platforms, but creating whole production houses.

David Beckham’s Studio 99 is perhaps the most infamous. Studio 99 describes itself as “a content-production company and integrated creative agency that delivers end-to-end production services, including commercial and editorial campaigns, TV shows and documentaries.” One of these was the Beckham three-parter which appeared on Netflix last year and the other was Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything.

Ex-football players in the UK used to run pubs (or bars in Spain if they were really successful). Festooned with pictures and memorabilia, it was a place and a chance to relive former glories with a captive/captivated audience. Now they can tell those bar tales to the whole world via their own production companies. It’s not just Beckham, Chelsea Football Club and England forward, Raheem Sterling, has joined forces with music video director, Carly Cussen, to launch Playmaker Films – although Sterling’s company is branded content, advertising, and music videos, steering away from sport.

While everyone needs a retirement plan, going headlong into film production takes planning and no small amount of investment. And the end result is no guarantee of success. In Beckham’s case, however (even though there were some criticisms of the series) there were real upsides: his beekeeping, father-in-law’s car (it was a Rolls Royce) and outdoor cuisine became the stuff of meme legend, and did exactly what was intended. It not only replayed some of the adversities he overcame, not least his family’ treatment by the British press, but was also a reminder and celebration of his exceptional talent on the pitch.

The danger, as ever though, is that as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Apple TV wring every last narrative drop out of historic footage and audiences develop a complete ennui with the genre. It’s a recurring bugbear, but when Drive to Survive Series 6 drops on February 24, how much deeper insight are we actually going to get into Formula One 2023 and how much will the continuing pantomime of team principals be the only real revelation in a season which saw total domination by one team? And one driver from that team, world champion Max Verstappen hasn’t been shy about his criticism of the show’s construction of narrative (as opposed to a less contrived set of stories). Speak to those still in the Paddock and you’ll find a split between people who want to get in shot and those who crave the days where sponsors’ guests outnumbered camera crews.

While Drive to Survive is (rightly?) credited with a surge in popularity in F1 or at least an increase in exposure of its protagonists, there has been criticism of the series and its cousins from tennis and golf. Partly because behind-the-scenes/reality TV backed by the governing bodies is always going to be heavily editorialised and a slew of signatures is required to sign-off on any series which has rights-holders’ involvement.

That’s not to say these series don’t have a place, but as, ever with sport, the joy comes from the unpredictable, the unfolding narrative. If we’re telling stories, they should be that: stories, not PR masked as behind-the-scenes insight. It’s not as if Made in Chelsea/The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills/ Selling Sunset are factual broadcasts. If we’re not careful sports docs will end up getting filed in the same category.

Let’s hope the new wave of players turned producers means more authentic content which tells the untold stories, rather than re-hashing and re-writing what actually happened. That will be a win for all concerned.

But…

…of all the retired players’ post-competitive careers, few can top Dion Dublin’s achievements. The former Coventry City, Aston Villa and Norwich City and TV presenter (Homes Under The Hammer for those unfamiliar with daytime TV) has created a musical instrument: The Dube , a percussion device used by session and live drummers. “One day I decided to go to a hardware store,” said Dublin. “I picked up six pieces of wood, a hammer and nails, and built a box.”

Beat that then, Beckham…

FIH inks four-year partnership with Nike

The International Hockey Federation has signed a four-year partnership with Nike. The partnership includes Nike delivering equipment to officials and umpires, as seen at the recent FIH Hockey Junior World Cups and the first FIH Hockey Pro League mini-tournament of the season.

Nike and FIH share the common goal of developing youth sport and getting more kids moving. Globally, only 1 in 5 kids gets the physical activity they need to thrive, and girls are moving the least. With more than 75% of all registered hockey players around the world aged under 18, hockey stands out as an ideal sport for younger generations and their parents, attracted by its values of respect, fair-play and integrity. Nike supports FIH’s efforts to keep on growing women’s hockey worldwide and are exploring ways to expand the partnership, aiming to inspire play and create a culture of belonging that welcomes all kids.

Commenting on the agreement, Olympic and World Champion Lidewij Welten (Netherlands), said: “I’m thrilled to be part of this exciting journey between Nike and the FIH, as we unite the passion of hockey with the global powerhouse of sports. The fusion of our dynamic sport and the iconic swoosh symbolizes a powerful stride forward, ensuring that the heartbeat of hockey resonates worldwide. Together with the FIH, Nike will be able to elevate the game to new heights, inspiring generations with every flick, dribble, and goal.”

Her teammate from the Dutch national team Pien Sanders, also an Olympic and World Champion, added: “It’s a very nice progression for the FIH to work with such a big brand and so together we can take hockey to the next level and make the sport bigger. Nike makes sure, first of all, that I can practice my sport with the best sports gear, but in addition, Nike also makes sure that every athlete can express themselves however they want. As long as you can be yourself, you can also deliver everything for the sport you play.”

Commenting on the agreement, FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “This partnership with Nike is great news for the development of our sport! The brand’s global scale, presence and reputation propels hockey into a dimension that certainly allows us to look to the future with even more optimism. Nike’s commitment to young people and women in particular is perfectly in line with the FIH’s values of gender equality, diversity and inclusion. I am convinced that the signing of this partnership marks the beginning of a long-lasting, fruitful and mutually beneficial collaboration.”

British Basketball League expands in the US with Bally Sports deal

The British Basketball League signed a new broadcast partnership with Bally Sports, a deal that will bring British basketball to regional audiences across the U.S.

Home to America’s most comprehensive regional sports media rights portfolio, with 18 owned and operated regional sports networks, (RSNs), Bally Sports will offer two weekly British Basketball League games, scheduled for Thursday and Friday evenings beginning January 04.

Games will air across the Bally Sports RSNs and also be made available to stream live and on demand through the Bally Sports app – when users authenticate through their local TV provider or subscribe to Bally Sports+, the company’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform.

Complementing game coverage later this spring, Bally Sports will begin offering two weekly original programs to stateside audiences. UNBEATABLE delivers a comprehensive look at the League action, offering weekly highlights, original features, exclusive player and League personality interviews, top plays, and entertaining bloopers. In addition, Inside the Paint, provides an in-depth analysis surrounding the week’s action, incorporating reactions from both players and coaches.

British Basketball League Chief Executive Officer, Aaron Radin, said: “Our mission is to delight fans worldwide with our sports entertainment offering. This partnership with Bally Sports signifies yet another big step in the growth and global appeal of our League. We’re excited to showcase the competitiveness of British basketball to Bally Sports audiences and create connections with sports fans in the U.S. through the incredible reach of their regional networks.”

ESPN and NCAA reach eight-year media rights agreement

ESPN and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have reached a new, eight-year agreement beginning Sept. 1, 2024, for NCAA championships media rights.

The deal includes domestic rights to a record 40 NCAA championships – 21 women’s and 19 men’s events – and international rights to those same NCAA championships plus the Division I men’s basketball tournament.

“ESPN and the NCAA have enjoyed a strong and collaborative relationship for more than four decades, and we are thrilled that it will continue as part of this new, long-term agreement,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “The ESPN networks and platforms will exclusively present a record number of championships, including all rounds of several marquee events that, together with the NCAA, we have grown over time. This unprecedented deal also further strengthens The Walt Disney Company’s industry-leading commitment to women’s sports and will help fuel our continued growth, including in the critical streaming space.”

The agreement continues exclusive coverage of sports included in the previous ESPN agreement – including all rounds of marquee NCAA Championship events (women’s basketball, softball, volleyball, gymnastics, baseball, FCS football, and more) – and adds coverage of the Division I men’s and women’s tennis team championships and the national collegiate men’s gymnastics championship. It also includes full rights for the men’s National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), as well as international rights for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Division II and Division III also add coverage on ESPN platform of championships in men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball.

“The NCAA has worked in earnest over the past year to ensure that this new broadcast agreement provides the best possible outcome for all NCAA championships, and in particular women’s championships,” said Charlie Baker, NCAA president. “Over the past several years, ESPN has demonstrated increased investment in NCAA championship coverage, and the Association is pleased to continue to provide a platform for student-athletes to shine. Having one, multi-platform home to showcase our championships provides additional growth potential along with a greater experience for the viewer and our student-athletes.”

With the significant increase in value of the new agreement, NCAA members will explore revenue distribution units for the women’s basketball tournament. The Division I Board of Directors Finance committee began discussion of revenue distribution philosophies and new models this year, and those discussions will continue with membership in the coming year.

“Finalizing this agreement ushers in yet another milestone for the NCAA positioning student-athletes first,” said Linda Livingstone, chair of the NCAA Board of Governors and Baylor University president. “Concurrent with the terms of the new media rights, several enhancements to student-athlete benefits across all three NCAA divisions will take effect, and this deal will help fund those important programs. And the national, integrated platform the family of ESPN networks provides will help grow the visibility of many NCAA sports, particularly for our women student-athletes.”

Endeavor’s IMG and WME Sports served as the media advisor to the NCAA for the media rights negotiations.

Hillary Mandel, EVP and Head of Americas for Media at IMG, and Karen Brodkin, EVP and Co-Head of WME Sports, added: “This groundbreaking new ESPN deal guarantees the NCAA significant increases in rights fees, investment in production and promotion, original content and storytelling, and multi-platform viewership options with a partner that has proven integral to the growth of its championships and women’s sports. Critically, it provides greater exposure for student-athletes across a record number of championships and capitalizes on the growing interest and fandom of women’s sports, which was a key focus throughout our in-depth evaluation and advisory work with the NCAA.”

Indiana Pacers to have a QR code-like jersey patch

The Indiana Pacers and Fishers-based Spokenote announced a first-of-its-kind partnership that makes the local technology startup the team’s official jersey patch partner.

The partnership breaks new ground in professional sports, as the Pacers become the first major professional franchise in the United States to sport a QR code-like jersey patch.

The Spokenote code on the front left shoulder of the Pacers’ regular season and postseason jerseys unlocks special Pacers content for fans, including content not previously seen elsewhere. The Pacers debuted the jerseys yesterday featuring the new patch at home versus the Milwaukee Bucks.

“We are thrilled to have Spokenote as our jersey patch partner, and their innovative product will allow us to engage our fans in many new and different ways,” said Todd Taylor, President and Chief Commercial Officer for Pacers Sports & Entertainment. “We are extremely proud to assist a local startup on its journey to becoming a widely known consumer brand.”

The partnership also brings together the Pacers iconic brand with one of Indiana’s most exciting tech startups and one of its most recognized local entrepreneurs. Spokenote CEO and founder John Wechsler, a longtime entrepreneur and businessman who most recently founded Launch Fishers, the entrepreneurial accelerator home to dozens of tech startups, has been instrumental in helping turn Indiana into one of the Midwest’s fastest-growing technology hubs.

“Spokenote is thrilled to join the Pacers, one of basketball’s hottest and most exciting young teams, as their new jersey patch partner, and we look forward to working alongside them to identify new ways to engage fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and beyond,” said Wechsler.

Spokenote technology allows users to pair videos with a unique Spokenote code. This QR codeplus enables individuals to connect their digital memories and messages to a physical Spokenote sticker with its own unique digital landing page. Consumers nationwide have used Spokenote stickers to enhance thank you notes, greeting cards, home deliveries, and other personal interactions. Spokenote technology that has also been used by a wide range of organizations to engage their stakeholders and customers.