Report: Women’s Sport Trust study shows positive impact of working with women’s sport

New research from the Women’s Sport Trust has shown the positive outcomes that can be achieved by brands sponsoring women’s sport. The report – developed with the sponsorship consultancy ONSIDE – reveals that 24.5 million adults are now aware of any women’s sport sponsorship in the UK and women’s only deals are proving popular due to their ability to attract new audiences and drive brand affinity.

Overall women’s sport was thought to be a key part of the sports sponsorship mix and potentially more impactful: 

  • 60 per cent agree that sponsors should invest both in the men’s and women’s side of a sport that they support. 
  • 63 per cent of women agree that brands sponsoring a sport should give the same level of coverage in advertising to men’s and women’s teams.
  • 29 per cent think more favourably of companies or brands that support women’s sport through their sponsorship, compared to 17 per cent that support men’s sport. 
  • 16 per cent of the UK population are more likely to buy from a brand that sponsors women’s sport, compared to 13 per cent that sponsor a men’s sport. 

High-profile sponsorships of women’s sport are achieving significant awareness, with 14.6m people aware of O2’s sponsorship of the England’s women’s rugby team the Red Roses and 14.4m aware of Coca Cola’s sponsorship of the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup.  

One of the most exciting findings of the report showed the positive impact brand newcomers, attracted by women’s only deals, are receiving to their partnerships. 53 per cent of those aware of make-up brand Il Makiage’s partnership with Arsenal and 52 per cent aware of Gucci’s partnership with England star Leah Williamson felt more positive about the brands as a result – the best performing of all brands tracked. These partnerships are also driving greater affinity specifically from women, while typically it is men and avid women’s sports fans who are most likely to be aware of a women’s sport sponsorship overall.

Il Makiage’s Arsenal partnership was most successful in driving brand consideration, with 31 per cent of those aware of the sponsorship more likely to consider buying from the brand as a result, compared to an average of 20 per cent across women’s sport sponsorship.

Tammy Parlour, CEO and Co-Founder of the Women’s Sport Trust, said: “This new research clearly demonstrates the positive impact that can be gained for brands if they invest in women’s sport sponsorship.”

Parlour continues, “In order to make women’s sport more sustainable in the long-term, we hope right-holders can learn from these results and produce creative partnership opportunities. This data should provide confidence to the industry that brands can have tangible outcomes across a variety of metrics, without the activation restraints that often occur in men’s sport.”

The Women’s Sport Trust research, produced by ONSIDE, found that a commitment to equal support of men’s and women’s sport and focusing on addressing the inequality of opportunities provided to women and girls in grassroots sports are most impactful in driving a positive sentiment towards the sponsoring brand.  

47 per cent said that activations focused on community and grassroots sport would have a more positive impact on brand perception, while 45 per cent said that activations promoting sustainability and environmental initiatives would have a positive impact, challenging rights holders to create packages that provide a platform for brands to activate sponsorship in this space. Fans were also keen for brands to play a role in celebrating the brilliance of on-field athletes, with 38 per cent believing brands should produce content promoting the sport as being exciting. 

Jon Long, UK and Middle East Managing Director of ONSIDE added: “This research affirms the marketing value of women’s sport sponsorship and, most importantly, moves the conversation on from investment to activation. The British public, particularly young adults and avid sports fans, want brands to be bolder and broader in their activation of women’s sport sponsorships.”

In both men’s and women’s sport, sponsorships focusing on community/grassroots level activities are most likely to drive recommendation and consideration of the sponsoring brand, with women’s sport found to be slightly more effective than men’s sport. 2 in 5 would like to see more brands engage in sponsorship of women’s sports at a community/grassroots level, rising to 3 in 5 amongst avid women’s sports fans and avid women’s football fans. 

The research can be downloaded here:
https://www.womenssporttrust.com/womens-sport-trust-produces-comprehensive-industry-report-into-the-positive-impact-of-womens-sport-sponsorship-on-brands/

LALIGA announce strategic partnership with Electronic Arts

LALIGA today kicked off a new era with Electronic Arts Inc., the competition’s new strategic partner for the next five seasons, with a launch ceremony surrounded by clubs and strategic partners. This transformation includes a major brand evolution, touching on strategy and positioning, but also extends to tangible changes in LALIGA’s audiovisual broadcasting and digital ecosystem.

LALIGA’s new direction reflects the growth it has experienced over the last decade to become the largest football ecosystem in the world. This global transformation began with the announcement of the brand’s new positioning and purpose under the slogan “The Power of our Fútbol,” a launch with which the competition reaffirms its commitment to inspire and leave a positive impact on society.

Javier Tebas, president of LALIGA, said: “Today we begin a new era that represents a revolutionary change for both Spanish football and the industry. And we do so surrounded by clubs and strategic partners such as EA SPORTS, without whom none of this would have been possible. Together we want to create a better football for society and a better society for our football.”

The support of strategic partners and associates has been and will continue to be fundamental. LALIGA offers a unique product that makes it a key player in the industry. It is multi-target, since it reaches people of different ages and backgrounds; it is multi-engagement, and can be interacted with in different ways and with different intensity; and it is multicultural, thanks to its strong global presence.

LALIGA will continue in its commitment to expanding the global football ecosystem together with the worldwide industry leaders with which it partners such as Microsoft, PUMA, Mahou San Miguel and BKT, all while not losing sight of both regional & local partners and adapting to the needs of each market.

A strategic alliance set to revolutionize the football industry

The union of LALIGA and EA SPORTS is the culmination of a relationship consolidated over the last 10 years, but which now moves on to a new level; the leading games publisher becomes the first ever international partner to be title sponsor of the competition.

David Jackson, VP of Brand at EA SPORTS said, “LALIGA uniquely share our vision for a fan-first future of football, and this partnership brings us the opportunity to reframe the way in which fans engage with the game. Combining our expertise in building globally diverse audiences with LALIGA’s spirit of innovation, we will continuously challenge each other, learn, and grow together as partners. As we enter a new era with EA SPORTS FC, we’re excited for our LALIGA partnership to come to life in a variety of ways, from audio-visual technology to entertainment innovation, from grassroots initiatives to digital communities, all with the intention of bringing fans closer to football.”

This strategic alliance brings with it a disruptive way of viewing football, breaking down barriers between the physical and the digital, and creating a unique product that will reach a much wider audience.

The agreement will also be reflected in the naming of the First Division, which will be renamed “LALIGA EA SPORTS,” and the Second Division, which will be renamed “LALIGA HYPERMOTION,” referring to the cutting-edge technology used in the EA SPORTS FC video game based on motion capture that uses high generation images to create more realistic game experiences.

The two companies’ commitment goes beyond a simply technological and audiovisual transformation, however, as both aim to continue generating a positive impact on society and inspiring the world through football.

Other key partnerships for the 2023/24 season

This new era will bring with it other alliances, including the recently presented partnership with LEGENDS, The Home of Football, presented by LALIGA, a space that brings together the largest memorabilia collection in the history of world football. Located in Madrid, it is the first step in the alliance between LALIGA and LEGENDS, of which UEFA is also a part.  600 pieces of memorabilia worn by players in official FIFA, UEFA, CONMEBOL and LALIGA competitions, among others, are displayed in a building with 4,200 square metres of floor space spread across seven floors and featuring a LALIGA TwentyNine’s LEGENDS sports bar.

Fanatics, meanwhile, becomes the strategic partner with which LALIGA will launch its first online store, with the two companies reaching an omnichannel distribution and manufacturing agreement for the competition’s products. The LALIGA Store ecommerce venture will be launched globally this summer before the start of next season. Fans will be able to access a wide selection of officially licensed LALIGA jerseys, training apparel and accessories, as well as of most LALIGA clubs. The selection will be expanded over time to include clubs from both LALIGA divisions, making it the competition’s largest merchandising catalogue.

A transformation at all levels

Many of the new features presented form part of LALIGA’s digital ecosystem. Beyond aesthetic changes to the website, which will integrate the new logo and corporate colours, this new era will also usher in significant technological changes.

The official LALIGA App has been transformed to offer a significantly more personalized user experience, in line with users’ personal tastes and with relevant information around their preferred clubs. It now incorporates a new social video experience focused on NEAR LIVE content which can be shared more easily on social networks. LALIGA FANTASY will also see a host of new features that will be announced on July 12th, and which will help improve the user experience.

A new way of conceiving football on an audiovisual level will be unveiled from August 11th, featuring a full-scale change of the graphics package in match broadcasts including on-air displays, the lower, and scoreboards with a host of new, more dynamic, and lively graphics. The use of cameras will also change, looking for new shots and angles that will bring fans even closer to EA SPORTS FC. These new features integrated into match broadcasts will showcase new perspectives and angles that, enriched with information, create a much more immersive viewing experience that more closely resembles the video game.

The House View: SEG3: The big picture can’t be ignored

I wonder if people at the start of the Industrial Revolution said to themselves, ‘wow, we are really living through a time of profound change that will impact the future of the planet.’ 

That’s where we are now with digital transformation, and I don’t think it’s going too far to make comparisons to the age of the steam engine in looking at the implications of blockchain and digital identity and the metaverse for society, and Generative AI for employment in particular. 

How long will the transformation take? Who will call the shots? What role will government play? This kind of big-picture stuff did not dominate centre stage at the SEG3 conference at Emirates Stadium last week, but it naturally influenced the delegates’ conversation.

And it’s probably too big picture for most of us to profitably concentrate much thought on. That was the view shared with me by Beth Johnson of Umbrella, who led a workshop on brands in the metaverse. People in sports and entertainment and gaming should just make the most of new technology and get on with our businesses. Where it’s all going is beyond our control and anybody’s guess. I think that’s wise. 

But there’s difference between getting hung up on wider transformation and paying attention.

Some of the points that I found most stimulating from the speakers at SEG3 were about the big picture rather than business use cases. 

The panel led by Marie Wallace of Accenture on the future of digital identity made it clear that at some point everybody is likely to be navigating the internet as their digital ‘selves.’ 

Accenture sees digital identity as a ‘foundational trend’ of where tech is going. Marie has commented: “We are faced with a challenge in that the web was never built with an identity layer, yet access management is predicated on strong identity, so as companies have increasingly relied on digital technology to run their businesses, the challenges resulting from that gap have continued to grow.”

Tyrone Lobban of JP Morgan pointed out that Brussels is already pushing to make having a digital identity universally accessible to European citizens. I can only assume that this is ultimately going to be about blockchain. 

And I have to say that my thinking on what is going to push mass adoption of blockchain has changed since the Web3 Summit last year. I thought it would be mainly gaming and entertainment and that it would be all about fun. Now I think it will be serious.

The emergence of Generative AI has made it clear that establishing authenticity of information has become a bigger concern than ever.  It’s my guess that blockchain adoption will be largely driven by governments and banking and the need for a robust interoperable trust layer for digital interaction. 

We will all become identical with our wallets. 

Things already started heading that way with covid vaccination certificates for flying.

Actually it appears we might become identical with our ‘Souls.’ That is the name the tech theologians have come up with for wallets that will contain Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) representing a person’s identity that can include medical records, work history etc.

But what else will our future wallets contain?

This is where businesses need to focus their attention.

The digital change that is taking place is possibly more profound than the Industrial Revolution. We are looking at a re-invention of value as something that can exist virtually as well as in the ‘real world.’ 

Yes, we’ve all heard this before and we already see it in action on gaming platforms where millions are spent on virtual accessories. 

But what really struck me at SEG3 were speakers saying that a shift towards a world of virtual value might be not only possible but necessary.

Martin El-Khoury of Bertelsmann Investment was explicit. He suggested that the reality of the global economy and sustainability imperatives are such that prevailing consumer habits cannot continue indefinitely. Buying and trading virtual goods will increasingly become normalized. 

It’s already happening in fashion. Leanne Elliott Young of the Institute of Digital Fashion showed delegates that virtual designer fashions cater to and fulfil the same desires. The only difference from the clothes on the catwalk is you wear them in the metaverse. Virtual fashions are certainly more accessible and sustainable.

It’s not hard to see what all this means for sports. A trend towards digital identity and virtual consumption fits perfectly with the ambition of rights owners to expand globally. Fans all around the world who are brought into their orbits virtually will be just as valuable as the ones who go to the stadium, possibly even more valuable for data. 

And they won’t be stuck at the stadium. As ‘interoperability’ develops and they can move easily between metaverse environments and take everything with them all of sports and entertainment can benefit. 

One message at SEG3 that has not changed from the Web3 Summit last year is that the digital transformation we’re talking about is in its early days. 

On the panel about raising investment in a bear market, Nathan Pillai of Caerus said that where we are now in terms of how Web3 will develop is where the internet was in 1997.

That’s a decade before the birth of social media. And as Marc Matthieu of Salesforce puts it, “No one ever said social media was a re-invention of the internet. That’s what the Web3 philosophy of decentralization and smart contracts means.”

In the meantime, it might be a good idea to pay some attention to re-inventing the language of Web3.

One SEG3 delegate remarked on the current vocabulary that it’s as if everybody sat down and decided on words using that would create as much friction as possible. Let’s hope that as the evolution of Web3 continues, unfit terms such as NFT (I’m not sold on SBT either) become extinct like the dodo. The sooner the better. My dream would for it to be in time for our SEG3 event in Los Angeles, register your interest here.

By Jay Stuart, Content Director, iSportConnect

Meet the Member: “The sport has had to evolve, but its DNA has always remained the same”

For this week’s interview we sat down with Yasser Hefny, Head of the Athletes Committee for Modern Pentathlon, to discuss his own journey to the Olympics as an athlete and the way the sport is evolving.

So Yasser, to kick us off please take us through your journey in sport?

I had a bit of an interesting journey into sport. I was always playing a lot of different sports growing up. Despite the fact we weren’t a sporty family, my parents were always keen on me doing a lot of different sports. 

I didn’t know about Modern Pentathlon until one of my teachers at school introduced me to it. Despite it being five different sports rolled into one I really enjoyed it and had a fair amount of success straight away. I joined the national team and ended up competing at the Olympic Games in London in 2012. 

I have really had some amazing experiences in sport, both as an athlete and as an administrator, I really can’t imagine doing anything else.

Do you think your experience as an athlete has helped you in your current administrative role?

I think it really has because it means the sport is in my heart, I care so much about it and I am not just saying this, I really do. I can also sympathise with and understand some of the problems that athletes face and the potential impact the changes we make to the sport will have on our athletes. 

What makes the Modern Pentathlon event so special?

I think the variety of sports and disciplines involved in the event is what makes it so special. It also has a great link all the way back to the founder of the Modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, who picked the five disciplines that make up the sport in order to find the most ‘complete’ athlete. 

As an athlete it is brilliant because you get to practise so many different sports all the time, which for me was something I really enjoyed. I also think one of the strengths of Modern Pentathlon is that it is a mirror of real life in some ways because you can be struggling in one of the events but doing really well in another. You have to try and get all five on form at the same time which is a real challenge.

How has the event evolved over the years?

While we have always had to evolve to keep up with the changes in the world so that the sport keeps its appeal, the DNA of the sport has always remained the same. Originally, the competition took five days with an event on each day, now it is just 90 minutes per event. In 2009, we changed from pistol to laser shooting, we also then started including running and laser shooting together. The latest innovation is the introduction of the Obstacle discipline. 

It is clear that Obstacle will provide a huge boost both to our sport and the Olympic Games. There’s over 20 million obstacle athletes worldwide, and these are the young people that the IOC needs. Ninja Warrior and Obstacle shows also produce millions of social media engagement. In a world focused on sustainability, Obstacle will also help reduce operational costs at the Olympic Games because it is many times cheaper than horse riding. It will transform Modern Pentathlon.

It is in the sport’s nature to evolve which is what I think is a real strong point of it because we do need to adapt as the world changes. Some events will never change and that is also a part of their charm in a different way, we will always have the 100-metre sprint.

And looking forward past Paris, how do you think the sport will continue to evolve in Los Angeles 2028?

We are still really building towards Paris 2024 at the moment and making sure that the changes we implement there are going to be as successful as they can be. Like I mentioned in the previous answer, we are cutting down the time of each event to 90 minutes, this is specifically designed to try and both engage new fans of the sport and retain the ones who are already in place. We are now just under a year away from the Games and it is such an exciting time for the sport in general.

An American Ninja Warrior-style obstacle course in LA28 is the evolution our sport and the Olympic Games needs. Millions of young people around the world will fall in love with our sport. 

If you could work on one other Olympic sport what would it be and why?

I would like to try working in football, because I think you would have a lot of fun. But in terms of an Olympic sport, I would love to have a go at triathlon. I really love working in multi-event sports, just because it gives you so many options in terms of the different disciplines both as a competitor and an administrator.

Member Insights: Who’s in charge? Why tech can’t provide all the answers when it comes to officiating

In this week’s Member Insight piece, our Content Manager, Alex Brinton, looks into how, despite the many advances in technology that have helped officials, the power to make decisions must lie at a human’s door.

Don’t worry this isn’t going to turn into a rant about VAR and its use in football, but we will touch on that later. Instead, we start with a sport where technology in officiating isn’t new; it has been a part of the experience since 1992. 

We start at Lord’s. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few days you will have seen the controversial dismissal of England batsman Jonny Bairstow. For those few that haven’t, I will do my best to explain: Bairstow walked out of his crease at the end of an over and Australia’s wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw the ball at the stumps, hitting them with Bairstow yards out of his crease.

In the Laws of the game Bairstow was out, but cricket being cricket things are not that simple. There is another element to this  which is the spirit of the game. What followed were some less than savoury scenes in the Lord’s pavilion with MCC members confronting the Australian players as they left the field.

Fury has erupted on both sides of the globe and has led to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak  jumping in to support England while his Australian counterpart returned fire, telling Sunak to “stay in his crease”. 

Could a controversial stumping lead to an Australian republic?

What could have stopped all this? Well the Aussie skipper, Pat Cummins, could have retracted his appeal, but you can’t blame him for not. But for me the fault lies with the umpires. They could have defused the situation very easily by deciding the ball was ‘dead’ because it was the last ball of the over. As England captain Ben Stokes pointed out, they had begun to move to their positions ready for the next over..

For me, this comes back to the fact that cricket umpires at the highest level have become overly dependent on technology to help in the decision-making process, and lack the confidence to make the common sense, human decisions that they are still needed for. It is almost like they have had the power of independent thought removed and now find themselves shying away from tough decisions. 

Run outs are a  great example of this. Some run outs are close and need to be checked, using technology, by the third umpire – this I have no problem with. But over the last few years the umpires have become so scared of making a decision they push the responsibility onto the technology everytime, no matter how far out the batter is.

That does mean that they are all correct (which seems an odd thing to moan about) but it leads to this over reliance on technology that has caused problems such as Sunday’s Lord’s stumping. Officiating needs a human touch, in some respects cricket has lost that, and I am desperate for other sports not to go the same way.

VAR. Yes, we were always going to get to VAR eventually weren’t we? It is a struggle to get through a Premier League weekend without some controversy around it, but it is working and we are seeing more correct decisions which is a win for everyone. I do think that while the rules around offsides are not great and we all hate it when they start drawing the dreaded lines on the screen, they do seem to work more of the time then not. 

But football officiating is so often subjective and at the moment referees are often sympathetic to the rhythms of the game and different referees have different styles. It is what makes the role of tech in decision making a difficult one. This is where I think we need to be careful and make sure our referees keep their independence and autonomy. 

Tennis is another sport where tech plays a massive role in the decision-making process. Hawk-Eye has become a big part of the game and the way players use their challenges is a real artform. Thanks to line-judges and the technology, the umpire now occupies a position of managing the players and using his or her experience and common sense to make sure the game runs as smoothly as possible. Admittedly, when Nick Kyrgios is on court that can be pretty challenging. 

There are some things humans can do that just can’t be substituted by any sort of technology so refereeing jobs are safe for now.

Photo credit: Ben Sutherland

The House View – A recap from the last two days at SEG3

As I write this we are just reaching the conclusion of this year’s SEG3 London event, it has been a busy couple of days with panels, workshops, interactive experiences and more than a bit of networking. 

Like last year, I have learnt so much over the last couple of days through listening to the panels, speaking to delegates and most importantly interviewing speakers from all across the Web3 landscape. Asking Aardman’s Commercial Director what Wallace and Gromit would have made of Web3 was a particular highlight. 

For those of you who didn’t manage to attend this year’s event, here is a selection of my favourite quotes from the last two days.

Marc Mathieu, from Salesforce, provided a big-picture overview of the intersection of Web3 and Generative AI. While Web3 continues to await the use cases that will drive the technology towards mass adoption. We may see that this push will come from the need to develop a ‘trust layer’ for Generative AI. He said: “Web3 is almost a philosophy of decentralisation. Generative AI is an enabler that can make it easier to turn creative ideas into reality.” 

He added: “Generative AI will enable us to learn more about the things that we don’t already know.” In other words it is not just about predicting future behaviour based on past behaviour. 

Andrea Berry, from Theta Labs, said: “We often hear about the importance of owning your own audience, but it isn’t easy to put that into practice. Rights Owners that try to distance themselves from the big platforms in order to own data often find that they are at the mercy of third party providers as they build “frankenstein’ sites combining Web2 tech solutions with Web3.”

Nizzar Benchekroune, from Berexia, said: “Web3 is the beginning of the internet. You have been surfing the internet for 20 years, now you can be inside it.” 

“One of the biggest changes will be the transformation of the relationship between brands and consumers. People walk around today wearing clothes that advertise brands. In the future they will be paid by brands for promoting them. Brands will need to give more to consumers as expectations rise.”

JP Morgan’s Tyrone Lobban, added: “He pointed out that Brussels is already working on making a trusted ‘digital identity’ accessible to everyone in Europe and that the momentum to create a blockchain-based ecosystem may come from governments and financial institutions rather than entertainment. Though sports, entertainment and, especially, gaming will play important roles.

LaLiga’s Keegan Pierce said: “Monetising needs to be done as a natural outgrowth of fandom, not an imposition”

Martin El-Khouri, from Bertelsmann Investments, said: “The content side and the advertising side are merging. This is what NFTs will embody moving forward.”

Make sure you are following the SEG3 socials and website to keep up to date with all the latest news, views and content.

Member Insights: How AI and technology is enhancing the whole tennis experience

In this week’s Member Insight piece David Granger, Content Director for Cinch, looks into how tennis is embracing the future through technology.

With AI commentary, virtual reality line judges and keeping online trolls off players’ feeds, tennis is truly embracing technology, while keeping the spirit of the sport alive.

The news that tennis is to get AI commentators at Wimbledon this year is… no great surprise. We’re going to see a lot of artificial intelligence experimentation over the next 12 months as both sport and spectators establish how to embrace or reject the march of the machines.

How will it work? Having been trained in the “unique language of tennis”, IBM’s Watsonx will be tracking data from the ball, from players and analysing shots to generate audio and text commentary on the Wimbledon app. 

And tennis is the perfect partner (#SorryNotSorry) for AI. Despite its (occasionally refined) reputation the sport has always has a voracious appetite for new technology. Hawk-Eye is now used across a range of sports from snooker to Aussie Rules, but has been a mainstay in tennis for 20 years. It took over the role of chalk dust (copyright Mr J McEnroe) as the final arbiter of whether a ball was in or not. And if anything, unlike VAR in football, Hawk-Eye has added to the spectacle of professional tennis. It’s difficult to image a game without a virtual reality AI replay request.

Side story. 

At the cinch Championships this year, one of the highlight moments was a line judge’s astute call on a ball which was out by millimetres. And when Hawk-Eye confirmed her decision of that exceptionally close out, the crowd cheered, the umpire gave her a virtual fist-bump and she became internet-famous for the week. Fascinating that everyone will now accept technology’s decision over human, but celebrate a correct human call.

The AI commentary for Wimbledon will allow access to both aduio and text commentary. According to IBM. “Fans can add AI-generated spoken commentary to Wimbledon highlight reels, hearing play-by-play narration for the start and end of each reel, along with key points. Fans can also turn on closed captions to further enhance accessibility, a key consideration for All-England Lawn Tennis Club.”

There are those who might argue that some commentators (not necessarily from tennis) would be little missed if replaced by robots. And some who sound robotic at the best of times.

AI has also been assisting the well-being of tennis players. In a sport where your mental state plays such an important part of the game, social media’s intrusion is not always, well, not often, going to be welcome. 

Players at the French Open they were able to filter their feeds thanks to an app provided by tournament organisers. 

Bodyguard.ai is more than just a way of blocking unwanted words or phrases. It can consider who the post is aimed out and the meaning behind any message. Matthieu Boutard, Bodyguard.ai’s co-founder, told npr.org. “AI is a lot more complex in a sense that it understands context,

“Tennis is an individual sport. So if you lose a game, that’s your fault. You’re very exposed because a lot of people are actually betting on sport and tennis specifically, which means a lot of haters going after you if you lose a point, if you lose a set or if you lose a game.”

We shall wait and see how the AI commentary works at Wimbledon, whether it adds to the experience, decreases or increases fan understanding or play or is a technological distraction. Perhaps technology’s involvement/enhancement is best summed up by Jérôme Meltz, Chief Information and Data Officer, Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT) in an interview with the BBC last year. Meltz maintains AI will be a powerful tool to help us enjoy sport – but that’s all it ever will be. He said: “Human and emotional factors remain a priority and the main element that fuels the drama.”

The debate over AI and its future is at the heart of the Generative AI for the Creative Industries’ Summit which takes place in London, September 12-13. There’s a more than impressive line-up of speakers and topics being covered, including industry experts from Amazon, the BBC, Adidas and Meta.

You’ll find ticket details here

The rumour that the cinch Championship line judge is one of the surprise guest speakers? That’s still under review…

Photo credit: Neil Hall/Pool via Reuters

Modern Pentathlon with Obstacle will boost the popularity of the Olympics according to YouGov survey

Nearly half of young people in the United States are more likely to watch and follow the Olympic Games once Modern Pentathlon has introduced Obstacle to the programme, a new survey has found.

A poll of 1,500 US citizens undertaken by YouGov, the global public opinion and data company, found that 45% of Generation Z (born in 2000 and later) and 41% of Millennials (born between 1982 and 1999) were more likely to watch the Olympic Games on TV if it featured a Ninja-style Obstacle race. Taken as a percentage of the US population this would equate to nearly 45 million more people watching the Games.

The survey also found that 42% of Gen Z and 41% of Millennials were more likely to follow the Olympic Games on social media if it featured a Ninja-style Obstacle race, with one in two Gen Z and Millennials surveyed stating that they watch Obstacle racing shows.

As displayed in the graphic above, when asked ‘How much would the addition of a Ninja-style Obstacle race make you more or less likely to watch the Olympic Games on TV or online stream?’, 12% of Gen Z respondents said they would be ‘much more likely’ to do so and 33 % said they would be ‘more likely’. A higher proportion of Millennials (18%) answered ‘much more likely’ with 23% saying ‘more likely’.

When asked ‘How much would the addition of a Ninja-style Obstacle race make you more or less likely to follow the Olympic Games via social media?’, 10% of Gen Z respondents said they would be ‘much more likely’ to do so and 32% said they would be ‘more likely’, while 16% answered ‘much more likely’ and 25% ‘more likely’.

A new Obstacle discipline is currently being integrated into Modern Pentathlon at junior and youth levels, and senior athletes will fully adopt the change after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. More than two-thirds (37%) of survey respondents said they would be more likely to watch the new-look Modern Pentathlon at the Olympic Games, and 46% of those cited enjoying Ninja-style Obstacle races as the reason, with 34% describing the reason for their answer: ‘I think the Modern Pentathlon needs to embrace change’.

Obstacle shows were also considered highly entertaining, engaging and challenging by survey respondents – outscoring both the Olympic Games and Modern Pentathlon on these keywords.

UIPM has proposed a transformative Modern Pentathlon comprising Fencing, Obstacle, Swimming and Laser Run for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, following a request from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to demonstrate how the sport can be more compatible with the criteria for inclusion in LA28.

FIBA and ESPN agree broadcast partnership for FIBA World Cup 2023

FIBA and ESPN have announced a rights agreement for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, with all 92 games available on ESPN platforms, including ESPN2 and ESPN+.

The global event tips off on August 25, and continues through to September 10. Six games will air exclusively on ESPN2, including three in the first round featuring Team USA.  All other 86 games will be carried by ESPN+ while also being available on FIBA’s official streaming service, Courtside 1891. 

FIBA will produce a dedicated USA broadcast feed for the linear games on ESPN featuring specialist US commentators and US-dedicated content and analysis in order to deliver a highly engaging broadcast experience for fans in the USA.

Team USA is aiming to return to the top and will start their World Cup 2023 campaign in Manila, Philippines, when they take on New Zealand on August 26.

“ESPN is excited to once again partner with FIBA and showcase this global event as well as all of the tremendous international talent,” said Ashley O’Connor, ESPN Sr. Director, Programming and Acquisitions. “We’re proud to serve basketball fans with live event coverage of the sport on a year-round basis.”

Most recently, the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 saw ESPN distribute the entire Women’s World Cup. Six games were aired exclusively in the US on ESPN2 and ESPNU, which was the most Women’s World Cup games to ever air on live television in the USA, resulting in viewership tripling across the country.

Frank Leenders, FIBA Media and Marketing Services Director General, said: “This is excellent news for basketball fans in the USA. We are excited to join hands again with ESPN with this partnership that will showcase all 92 games of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. This will bring with it more new synergies that will make basketball more accessible and enjoyable for fans leading up to our biggest event that is to be co-hosted for the first time across three countries this August and September.”

Additionally, with this agreement, all FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 games will also be available on the ESPN App.

DAZN announced as broadcasting partner of Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 in Canada

From the start of the 2023-24 season, DAZN will be the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2’s official broadcasting partner in Canada after Bundesliga International agreed a three-year deal with the global sports streaming service.

The deal, which includes the top two divisions of German football, as well as the German Supercup and the all-important relegation play-off matches each season, covers both English and French language broadcasts, local broadcast sponsorship and advertising rights, and will run until the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, where Canada will then host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside the USA and Mexico.

Following the likes of Bundesliga champion and back-to-back CONCACAF Player of the Year Alphonso Davies, DAZN will showcase all the twists and turns of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 throughout the coming seasons. In addition to showing at least six live matches a week, DAZN has the rights to broadcast all matches, as well as access to a wide range of shoulder programming, and will provide fans throughout Canada with the best coverage of one of Europe’s most exciting leagues.

Peer Naubert, Bundesliga International Chief Marketing Officer, said: “Football is booming in Canada: after the national team made their second FIFA World Cup appearance last year, the country now looks forward to hosting the next edition. It is no wonder football is Canada’s fastest-growing sport. 

“The appetite for the Bundesliga is just as strong, and research highlights that we are the fastest growing international league in Canada since 2020. Our history as the home of North American talent, coupled with working with a worldwide powerhouse broadcaster like DAZN, means we are excited to see how German football can inspire the next generation of players and fans.”

Norm Lem, SVP, DAZN Canada SVP said: “We are thrilled to partner with the Bundesliga for the next three years, cementing DAZN’s place as the destination for football fans in Canada. The Bundesliga is one of the premier competitions in world football featuring a host of stars including one of Canada’s favourite sons Alphonso Davies. We have some incredibly exciting plans in place as part of the deal moving forward and we cannot wait to share them.”